The Perils of Guilt and Stress
Throughout the famous play Macbeth, many of the characters dealt with the guilt of their actions or the stress it caused in different ways. The one parallel in every reaction, however, is that the effects are negative. Whether it is Macduff who was driven to exact revenge by the grief of losing his family, or Lady Macbeth who walked the nights stricken with the guilt of murder, the intense emotions created by guilt and stress can lead to madness. Overall, Shakespeare portrays guilt and grief as a force that can rip the person apart.
The clearest example of this phenomenon is in the character Macbeth. In act I, Macbeth was in a position of great power. He was the Thane of Glamis, soon became the Thane of Cawdor, and was in high standing with King Duncan. He was happy with his life and had no reason to fear betrayal. However, as soon as he had slain Duncan, Macbeth was overcome with guilt and fear. At every sound, Macbeth was startled. He even heard voices saying how,” Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more.”(Act 2, Scene 2) Macbeth thought that this crime was so evil that he would not be able to sleep at night, whether from fear of the night or the guilt built up inside of him. This, however, did not happen. In fact, instead of having Lady Macbeth do all the “heavy lifting,” Macbeth was planning murders of his own. Soon after he was crowned king, his paranoia caused him to have Banquo murdered as well. He also made a point to have Macduff killed when he heard that he might be a threat to his reign. Macbeth’s guilt and stress over ascending to the throne led him down a brutal path of murder and betrayal. He did not however, have an intense mental breakdown, like his wife did.
At the start, Lady Macbeth was cruel and unrelenting. She was the one to suggest killing Duncan in the first place. Even directly after Duncan was killed, Lady Macbeth killed his guards and washed her hands immediately, whereas Macbeth furiously scrubbed his hands, thinking no amount of water could wash him clean. The guilt of the situation even penetrates this spiteful person, leading to common fits of sleepwalking. When she does this, she speaks about all the people that were killed because of both her and Macbeth’s actions. Additionally, in an interesting parallel to her husband in act two, she rubbed her hands together in an attempt to wash them. Like the literal blood on Macbeth’s hands, Lady Macbeth thought the “blood” on her hands would never come off. This unrelenting feeling of guilt eventually led to her destruction, as in act five she was found in her room having committed suicide.
Finally, the stress and anger of having his family killed drove Macduff to seek revenge on Macbeth. Before he found out that his family was slaughtered, Macduff was talking with Malcolm in a relatively relaxed tone about who would be a good new king. When Ross arrived to tell them about the bad news, Macduff was spurred into action. While mournful, he “let grief convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it.” (Act 4, Scene 3) Much like Lady Macbeth, Macduff let his heart fill with hatred, giving him motivation to kill Macbeth.
Both guilt and the stress from it can lead people to preform horrible actions. Clearly demonstrated in Macbeth, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff are all led to a life of killing and hatred, all originating from murder of one person.
Throughout the famous play Macbeth, many of the characters dealt with the guilt of their actions or the stress it caused in different ways. The one parallel in every reaction, however, is that the effects are negative. Whether it is Macduff who was driven to exact revenge by the grief of losing his family, or Lady Macbeth who walked the nights stricken with the guilt of murder, the intense emotions created by guilt and stress can lead to madness. Overall, Shakespeare portrays guilt and grief as a force that can rip the person apart.
The clearest example of this phenomenon is in the character Macbeth. In act I, Macbeth was in a position of great power. He was the Thane of Glamis, soon became the Thane of Cawdor, and was in high standing with King Duncan. He was happy with his life and had no reason to fear betrayal. However, as soon as he had slain Duncan, Macbeth was overcome with guilt and fear. At every sound, Macbeth was startled. He even heard voices saying how,” Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more.”(Act 2, Scene 2) Macbeth thought that this crime was so evil that he would not be able to sleep at night, whether from fear of the night or the guilt built up inside of him. This, however, did not happen. In fact, instead of having Lady Macbeth do all the “heavy lifting,” Macbeth was planning murders of his own. Soon after he was crowned king, his paranoia caused him to have Banquo murdered as well. He also made a point to have Macduff killed when he heard that he might be a threat to his reign. Macbeth’s guilt and stress over ascending to the throne led him down a brutal path of murder and betrayal. He did not however, have an intense mental breakdown, like his wife did.
At the start, Lady Macbeth was cruel and unrelenting. She was the one to suggest killing Duncan in the first place. Even directly after Duncan was killed, Lady Macbeth killed his guards and washed her hands immediately, whereas Macbeth furiously scrubbed his hands, thinking no amount of water could wash him clean. The guilt of the situation even penetrates this spiteful person, leading to common fits of sleepwalking. When she does this, she speaks about all the people that were killed because of both her and Macbeth’s actions. Additionally, in an interesting parallel to her husband in act two, she rubbed her hands together in an attempt to wash them. Like the literal blood on Macbeth’s hands, Lady Macbeth thought the “blood” on her hands would never come off. This unrelenting feeling of guilt eventually led to her destruction, as in act five she was found in her room having committed suicide.
Finally, the stress and anger of having his family killed drove Macduff to seek revenge on Macbeth. Before he found out that his family was slaughtered, Macduff was talking with Malcolm in a relatively relaxed tone about who would be a good new king. When Ross arrived to tell them about the bad news, Macduff was spurred into action. While mournful, he “let grief convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it.” (Act 4, Scene 3) Much like Lady Macbeth, Macduff let his heart fill with hatred, giving him motivation to kill Macbeth.
Both guilt and the stress from it can lead people to preform horrible actions. Clearly demonstrated in Macbeth, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff are all led to a life of killing and hatred, all originating from murder of one person.
Essay by Kyle Foster