How Is Fear Shown In Macbeth

The word “fear” appears in MacBeth forty-eight times. Lady MacBeth and her husband, MacBeth, are the two characters that exhibit the most fear. The guilt from the murders is the main cause of their fear. After Lady MacBeth convinces MacBeth to kill Duncan their fear increases dramatically. Fear forces us to do many things, no matter the extent of the consequences. MacBeth and Lady MacBeth would do anything to keep themselves from being caught. The fear causes both characters to change their morals, beliefs, and actions. MacBeth does not stop after Duncan. He continues to murder out of fear of being caught. The three witches talk to MacBeth and Banquo about the future propgecies coming true, so he tries to stop them from happening. MacBeth …show more content…
Macduff despises that MacBeth is the king. Macduff is in England trying to build an army to stop MacBeth. MacBeth hires murderers to kill Macduff’s family after hearing the news that Macduff is away. After the deed is done, MacBeth now thinks he is unstoppable. He cannot be killed by any man not born by a woman. He is confident that no one can kill him, but little does he know Macduff is able to. After MacBeth kills Duncan, he could not sleep; He has so much guilt, cannot say the word “amen”, and even sees Banquo’s ghost. As his hunger for power grows, he becomes stronger and less guilty, while Lady MacBeth becomes weaker and full of guilt. She has doctors watch her at night because of her consistent sleep walking. She constantly washes her hands, rinsing the blood off that she imagines to be on them. She fears that she is going to hell. She says, “Out damned spot! Out, I say! One, two, why, then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky.” (Act V) In the beginning, Lady MacBeth convinces MacBeth to kill Duncan. He feels guilty after, but she is happy and strong. Then, the guilt starts to overpower her to the point that she cannot handle it. He becomes more powerful and she ends up taking her own life because of the