Macbeth: Guilty as Charged

Lady Macbeth's Influence

Macbeth's Inner Battle

Lady Macbeth's Ego

Macbeth: Guilty as Charged

desperate measures

Tell-Tale Heart vs Lady Macbeth's hallucinations

"Was the hope drunk...like the poor cat i' th' adage?" (I, vii, 35-44)

Bloody Hands

“Out damn spot! Out I say!...Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?" (V, i, 35-40)

manhood

• Hallucinations are so deep

“The thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean? No more o’ that, my lord, no more o’ that; you mar all with this starting.” (V, i, 42-45)

"Yet I do fear thy nature...illness should attend it" (I, v, 16-20)

• Macbeth is once again doubting Lady Macbeth's plan; Lady Macbeth needs him to go through with it
• Lady Macbeth gives Macbeth a reason to kill Duncan and gain the throne: for once, he will have fufilled his desires
• Macbeth is torn between being a good kinsman and proving Macbeth wrong and fuelling his temptations

• in the end their crimes and sins were too heavy of a burden for them to bear

• conscience takes the worst of her

• causes their own downfall by letting his guilt take over

• Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth's manhood
• Macbeth must kill Duncan to prove to his wife that he really is a man, forcing himself to ignore his guilt

• questions if she will ever be pure from the deeds she and her husband had committed

• Macbeth and Lady Macbeth switched personalities throughout the play

• ironic when she questions if her hands will never be clean

t h e s i s

putting up a show

Just as guilty as Macbeth

“My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white.” (II, II, 63-64)

"Look like th' innocent flower but be the serpent under't" (I, V, 65-66)

• she would be ashamed to be as pure and innocent on the inside

Macbeth being influenced by Lady Macbeth, his constant battle with himself, and Lady Macbeth’s growing ego cause the two lovers to ignore their guilt and have it come back to haunt them at their downfall.

• she choses not to show her regret because she knows the deed is done

• Lady Macbeth is the opposite of what she is telling Macbeth to be
• From this moment on, Macbeth disregards his guilt, takes matters into his own hands, and paves the path to his own death

• ironically puts on an appearance to be more brave but is really as guilty and more “feminine” than she says she is

• fear towards the deeds are much greater

Haluncinating or Pretending

Work Cited

• McIlvaine, Robert. “A SHAKESPEAREAN ECHO IN ‘THE TELL-TALE HEART’: Literary reference center - powered by EBSCOhost.26 Aug. 2002.

• Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Tell-Tale Heart Summary." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

• Shakespeare, William. Macbeth Topic Tracking: Guilt. N.p.: BookRags Inc

• Shakespeare, William. Macbeth: Oxford School Shakespeare. Oxford University Press. 2009. Print

• “QUOTES RELATED TO GUILT.” weebly.com. n.d. Web.

• BBC. “Higher Bitesize English - theme: Revision.” BBC. 26 Aug. 2011. Web.

• Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin. “Character Analysis Lady Macbeth.” cliffsnotes.com. n.d. Web.

“Is this a dagger, which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” (II, i, 32-35)

• In this scene, Macbeth was either haluncinating or pretending so that he have an excuse to kill Duncan
• Macbeth knows killing Duncan was beyond cruel and he tried to dismiss his thoughts, even Lady Macbeth's efforts to tempt him
• Or there is an excuse for him to kill Duncan so that he can convince himself that he has no choice but to do it

Conflict of Macbeth vs Himself

Conclusion

“Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more.” (II, ii, 43-44)

• Macbeth is guilty after he killed Duncan and he is confused about his own identity
• His inner conflict between his ambition which is to take the throne and to be loyal has causes him no longer to sleep at night

In conclusion, the theme guilt has a significant meaning throughout the whole play creating the whole downfall of the main characters at the end. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had made the wrong decision and they felt guilty after doing it. Yet, they ignored and shut out their conscience which then leads them to their death at the end of the play.

Bangquo's Ghost

“Thou canst not say I did it: never shake thy gory locks at me.” (III, iv, 50-51)

• In this scene, we can see that Macbeth is definitely guilty after killing Duncan
• This scene plays an important role in the play because it strikes suspicious among the guests
• Although Macbeth was able to ignore his guilt, the hallucination showed his inner feeling of guilty and fear