The development of guilt in Macbeth

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Analyse how the writer develops a significant idea or theme in Macbeth

Guilt is a state of mind in which an individual or group of individuals experiences conflict at having done something that one believes one should not have done. In extreme cases of guilt, the feeling will not go away easily and if it is ignored it may cause people to develop mental illnesses such as depression.  In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the idea that guilt cannot be ignored is explored through the main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare explores this idea through the use of symbolism, character development and religious references throughout the play as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do their best to ignore their guilty conscience after planning and committing the murder of the Scottish king, King Duncan, and the subsequent murders that followed this in order to keep Macbeth on the throne. Immediately after Macbeth had killed King Duncan his guilt was apparent, though Lady Macbeth’s guilt was not shown until later in the play. When their guilt had finally been acknowledged, neither one of them was willing to take responsibility for their actions and so the guilt continued to eat away at each of them, resulting in devastating consequences for both of them.

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 Perhaps the most obvious technique used by Shakespeare to express the idea that guilt cannot be ignored was Symbolism. Shakespeare consistently employed this technique throughout the play through his reference to blood as a symbol of characters guilt, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine making the green one red.” (Act 2, Scene 2). This comment made by Macbeth as he looked as his blood-stained hands immediately after he had “done the deed” and murdered Duncan, showed that he had realized the enormity of what ...

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