Paper Example. Conceptual Guilt in the Book, Macbeth

Macbeth is one of the most famous and heartbreaking stories of Shakespeare. The story involves an intense action that triggers physical and psychological impacts on the characters. The plays begin with a short demonstration of three witches who prophesy that Macbeth will one day be the king. Macbeth collaborates with his wife and decides to kill King Duncan with his family to fulfill the dream. During the deadly activity, other individuals are killed to hide their identity. Macbeth also hires a group of murderers who kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, but only managed to get Banquo (Shakespeare 25). The action highly disturbed Macbeth as she thinks that Fleance would one day take over the power back. Lady Macbeth blackmails the community that two chamberlains had participated in the death of the king. Later on that night, the ghost of Banquo appears in the vision of Macbeth. Due to guilt, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do not enjoy their life due to overwhelming mental issues. The action triggers a lot of fear forcing Macbeth to look for approaches to overcome the issue. The essay reviews how characters demonstrate and how Shakespeare explains the nature of guilt, as illustrated in various concepts.

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How Guilt is DemonstratedLady Macbeth appears to be highly disturbed by the death of Duncan and his family. At the beginning of the story, Lady Macbeth is manifested as a strong-willed character who is determined to do anything that comes along her way. At the end story, Lady Macbeth’s guilt is illustrated when she tries to sleep. As such, she appears to sleepwalk, whereby she discloses her feelings. The kind of actions that she engage demonstrates her guilty due to her prior actions. The author illustrates, “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.” (Shakespeare 62). The quote illuminates how Lady Macbeth appears to be guilty about the death of Macduff. In regards, she demonstrates how Macbeth has been destroyed by his nervousness. In this case, the story clearly illustrates how Lady Macbeth is highly disturbed by the death of Duncan and his family.

The planning and participation of the murder are other criticals that demonstrate how Lady Macbeth is guilty of the action. She says, “Wash your hands put on your nightgown. Look not so pale. I tell you yet again, Banquo’s buried; he cannot come out on’s grave” (Shakespeare 60). Based on the illustration, Lady Macbeth is regularly thinking about the murder case that she participated in. Due to the action, the guilt has overwhelmed her mind, and the behavior is overturning her life. As a way of trying to fight the condition, Lady Macbeth decides to write a letter to confess (Shakespeare 91). However, the reader does not understand what the letter says. As such, participation in the murder has triggered Lady Macbeth to be guilty, thus affecting the nature of her life.

The blood that slipped on Macbeth during the murder incident is a critical aspect demonstrating his guilty. At the start of the story, Duncan and Macbeth are portrayed as a close friend. However, Macbeth betrays his friendship as he tries to acquire power. At first, Macbeth is a bit reluctant to commit the crime, but his wife put a lot of pressure, forcing him to engage in the action. Macbeth says, “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” (Shakespeare 22). The concept demonstrates how Macbeth is so guilty after killing his close friend. As a way of trying to eliminate the droplet of blood that sprinkled on him, he prays the ocean could wash his hand (Shakespeare 22). However, he is in fear that the droplet would make the water red. The action illustrates how Macbeth is so guilty about the blood image that split in his hand. As such, blood is a critical aspect that makes Macbeth appear guilty.

Lady Macbeth is also disturbed by blood spots as she says that she keeps smell it. She says, “Here’s the smell of the blood, still, all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” (Shakespeare 62). The approach illustrates that blood spots in her hand still disturb her mind. Despite how she tries to apply perfumes, the condition does not change. The condition illustrates the action she partook and how the guilt is a complex mental aspect, which is hard to get rid of.

Due to pressure within the family level, Macbeth appears to be guilty about killing his close friend. As such, he is forced to make a lot of decisions throughout the story with circles around his guilty conscience. At the start of the play, Macbeth faces a critical decision on whether or not to kill his friend. The action subjects him to mental conflict, which affects his mental performance. Macbeth shows the behavior of guilty at the start and end of the crime. He faces a critical decision to cut short his friend’s life. Another aspect of mental conflict occurs when Macbeth says, “I’ll go no more: I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on’t again I dare not”(Shakespeare 21). The notion illustrates how he keeps regretting killing his close friend. As such, Macbeth is afraid of going as the memory of Duncan run across the mind. The action clearly illustrates that Macbeth is guilty over the action he took, and if it was possible, he could not have killed Duncan. Macbeth appears to have low self-esteem, which hinders his ability to control the ongoing mental crisis. In this case, Macbeth faces a mental conflict toward the decision that he made in the wrong way.

At the end of the play, Lady Macbeth appears to be suffering from a mental issue, which makes her look mad. In regards, she says, “To bed, to bed. There’s knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed” (Shakespeare 63). The concept illustrates how mad she due to a mental issue that occurs due to a lot of memories that make her feel guilty. Due to the condition, she cannot survive alone as she needs someone for his survival. The approach clearly illustrates the impact of conscience, which affects her mental performance.

The Nature of Guilt

In the story, guilty is a critical aspect that is clearly outlined by William Shakespeare. In regards, Shakespeare examines how the nature of evil and corruption in society affects the human soul. In this case, evil opposes humanity, thus pushing individuals such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to inhumane actions as they try to ascend to power. In the story, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth appears to be driven by the evil as they freely accept the prophecy of witches that they will soon be a king and queen. As such, Shakespeare illustrates that guiltiness is driven by evil, which affects human souls (Shakespeare 71). At the start of the novel, Macbeth appears to be a good person, but due to the performance of evil, he develops some characters that ruin life other actions. Additionally, guilty has been associated with the elimination of goodness among women. The evil that drives Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan and his family continuous to disrupt her life. In this case, the nature of guiltiness is always associated with evil actions, which ruin individuals’ relationships.

Shakespeare portrays guilt in the form of imagination, which affects the characters’ life. After committing different forms of murders, Macbeth’s life is full of imagination about the actions he did. These imaginations appear to frighten Macbeth's life, making him to continuously blame himself for the betrayal. The imagination assists him in understanding the moral implication of inhumane actions. In specific, his life appears to be full of horror dreams regarding the crime he committed. Macbeth is aware of God’s moral approach, which forbids individuals from cutting anyone’s life (Shakespear 49). In the end, Macbeth appears to be overwhelmed by imagination, which hinders his ability to connect with others. As such, he is seen struggling to maintain moral consciousness and better feelings. His passion for power does not appear as imagination due to the inhumane actions he committed. The condition has fully suppressed his moral feelings, which defines the nature of guiltiness. Additionally, imaginations affect the connection between God and humans. For instance, after Macbeth has committed the crime, he realizes that he cannot say the word ‘Amen’ (Shakespeare 21). This clearly illustrates how guilty is a powerful connection that ruins the interaction between God and humans. Furthermore, imaginations overwhelm his sleep as he tries to recall the past deed. This illustrates how guiltiness hinders mental performance due to weak bond with nature. In this case, guilty is a critical aspect that is manifested in the form of imaginations, which affect human-nature connections.

In human nature, guilty is portrayed as a frightening trait that affects conduct. The actions that Macbeth and his wife engage subjects them to frightening conditions. After committing the murder, both individuals appear to be astounded by fears. As such, Macbeth appears to be in war with himself as he tries to put moral consciousness toward the action he did. Due to internal conflict, guilt makes Macbeth experience a horrible life, which affects his family. Macbeth appears to be in fear that God may punish him for the action he committed (Shakespeare 38)). In this case, the nature of guilty is portrayed as frightening, which may affect mental peace.

In the story, the realization is another critical aspect that shows the nature of guilty. In particular, the guiltiness subject Macbeth and his wife to realize that they commit crimes as they look for power. The condition becomes critical when he realizes the kind of action he did to his close friends. As such, both Macbeth and his wife appear to be desperate about their deed. They try to engage different actions as a way of fighting the guiltiness. Their life does not appear the same and the power they were aiming does not assist in overcoming the condition. Additionally, guilt subject Lady Macbeth to a sleepwalking scene after she realizes that she was driven by evil to participate in the murder (Shakespeare 123). Her consciences have become a critical aspect that affects her realization. The reality makes Lady Macbeth be afraid of the dark become she fears the consequences.

Shakespeare forms a contrasting good that diminishes evil, especially when he uses light and darks to show the boundary between the two factors. As such, Shakespeare demonstrates guiltiness on its appearance on the dark side (Shakespeare 94). Macbeth is illustrated as the problem that the county is suffering from. Macbeth develops an internal wound that occurs due to his betrayal, and the approach keeps paining. The pain occurs due to his materialistic action, which leads him to kill Duncan and others. Guiltiness hinder Macbeth and Lady Macbeth from receiving the honor that they were looking for. The author illustrates how guiltiness leads to unnatural disorders, which triggers fear and anxieties when the image of those murdered occur. As such, Shakespeare clearly illustrates that guiltiness created a boundary between good and evil.

Furthermore, Shakespeare demonstrates that guiltiness is highly influenced by external actions and powers. At first, Macbeth and his wife are tricked by three witches that soon they will come king and queen. Due to a lack of strong faith, they freely accept devils’ decision, which pushes them to engage in murder. Both appear to be powerless to resist the weird idea regarding their rise in authority.