The Cause Of Guilt In Macbeth's Trial

Aung San Suu Kyi once said, “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” It is human nature that the more power one desires, the more corrupt actions one must do to attain it. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the ways in which characters speak and think about their morals change due to their overpowering ambition for power and wealth, and the fear of losing this power sends them into a spiral of chaos.

Shakespeare’s exploration of guilt is predominantly demonstrated through the portrayal of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The utilisation of a variety of language and stylistic devices enabled the audience to fully comprehend Macbeth/Lady Macbeth’s guilty conscience. A series of incidence’s prompted their guilt including Banquo’s and the King’s murder. The significant literary devices that aided Shakespeare’s portrayal of guilt include Asides, soliloquys and symbolism. The impact of the literary devices will be analysed in accordance with the portrayal of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s guilt.

Macbeth refused to let the prophecies come true. He would end anyone who would come in his path. He was the king. They should be bowing down to him, the whole of Scotland.

Macduff eventually kills Macbeth because he believes that he unjustly killed the kings and his family. Lady Macbeth is under so much guilt that she throws herself off the balcony and commits suicide. Killing seem as though it is not the way to go, it causes many problems that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decided to endure after killing. After killing, guilt follows you like a shadow, following you every move, never

For every accolade there is a recipient, every Paris has his Helen of Troy, and every murder has its convict. But who is to be indicted for the murder of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth? Who is to be held liable for the calamitous events that occurred throughout the play? Prior to receiving a prophecy from the notorious Weird sisters in which he is prophesied to become king of Scotland, Macbeth murders the current king of Scotland, Duncan, with much provocation from his crafty wife, Lady Macbeth. In a desperate attempt to secure his safety and position of power, Macbeth hires a trio of murderers to assassinate his close friend Banquo and his son, who was also mentioned in the Witches prophecy to be the root of a long line of kings who will presumably take over the throne from Macbeth.

“ Is this an English speech I see before me, and a camera pointed toward me? Come, let me read thee. ” As a am sure you are aware, that was a quote, or be it slightly modified quote from the Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. This Shakespearean tragedy follows the rise and fall of Macbeth, as he is tempted and destroyed by his own ambition, during which he becomes engulfed with guilt.

Furthermore, the deep seated guilt and haunted conscience portrayed by Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 5 Scene 1 is a representation of my lasting influence over her. During the 1600’s, one’s loyalty to their king had no higher responsibility. Shakespeare has intentionally influenced the reader of significance of Lady Macbeth’s regicide and evil. With the use of imagery, Lady Macbeth called upon my evil spirits to help her convince Macbeth to commit regicide as she speaks, “Come, you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe”. Lady Macbeth called upon my spirits to fill her entirely with evil spirits.

The dagger is his temptation and represents his future destiny of violence. His hallucinations represent his guilty conscious and temptation, but also inspire him to continue to kill to stay king. However, he does not realize that he can not kill more to run away from what he has done and what his destiny is. As the play continue, Macbeth becomes worse and worse and his hallucinations represent how he is digging deeper into madness. All together his visions are a symbol of his violence, actions, and

Judge: “The prosecuting attorney may now speak.” Prosecuting attorney: “My lord, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, today I present to you the man that put Scotland in a catastrophic state. Leaving the people confused and uncertain about what happened to their beloved king. But today, I have evidence that will prove to your majesty that Macbeth is guilty. Macbeth is charged with first-degree murder contrary to f. 236 (6) of the Criminal Code of Scotland.

In the play, Macbeth hungered for power. He was given the title ‘'Thane of Cawdor’ ’but felt it wasn't good enough. He wanted to be king and was willing to kill for it. His ambition clouded his judgment and that led him to kill King Duncan to get the throne. Macbeth could have been a good leader had he not let the power engulf him and his guilty conscious get to him.

She generated a living monster who cared only about himself and his power. Macbeth changed from a quiet, overall good man, into a vicious murderer. Lady Macbeth altered her aspiration from a fearless, careless women into someone who over analyzes and guilts herself. Lady Macbeth not only feels guilty for the king but for Macduff’s wife as well. She reflects back on the MacDuff family murder and feels great guilt because they displayed characteristics of truly good people.

He was always torn between guilt and temptation. Macbeth was his own worst enemy and is responsible for his own downfall. Many things in the world today could compare to the play Macbeth. People get a deep desires to get what they want without someone stopping them. Most people are very straightforward and nothing stops them from doing what they want, even if it involves a murder.

The fact that Macbeth believes the witches’ prophecies are not evil nor good foreshadows how he will go on to kill any other person standing in his way to more power. His ambition blinds his mind to make him even think about ruthlessly committing a murder. This forceful way of gaining power will only lead Macbeth to become a “tyrant” in Scotland and his “fantastical” desires of killing Duncan and receiving the crown will lead Scotland to failure. Under Macbeth’s rule, Scotland seems to be in a terrible condition. With distrust among the people, there is tension all within the country, as Macbeth’s totalitarian regime had rendered the prosperity of Scotland.

“Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there: go carry them: and smear the sleepy grooms with blood” (Mac.2.2.66-68) Then, she goes to the attendants’ room and smears blood on them. She then talks to Lord Macbeth about the guilt they might have later on. She says, “These deeds must not be thought/ After these ways; so it will make us mad” (Mac.2.2.33-34)

As stated in the previous paragraph, the beginning of the story Macbeth is a different character than by the end of the story. Again, at the beginning he seemed to be loyal and good, but with every step he took to secure power he gradually, and sometimes not so gradually, became more corrupted. The entire story itself serves as a very good example of this moral, but some points that really stick out are where he has Banquo murdered after killing Duncan, and when he has Macduff’s family killed after feeling threatened. Macbeth realized after killing Duncan that Banquo knew about the prophecy and could possibly link Macbeth to the murder. So, Macbeth does the unthinkable and kills his friend, all to keep his secret and to maintain his power.