Guilt can tear a person down, or in rare cases it can build a person up. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare he shows both types of guilt in the characters. Most show the sad and angry guilt ,but a few let it drive them forward. All types of guilt will change a person, but it will effect some more than others. The guilt they feel and the fear of facing consequences negatively affects the mental health of Macbeth, Macduff, and Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth’s mental health changes dramatically throughout the play. When Macbeth first commits the murder of Duncan he was already feeling the guilt of killing him before he had even acted against Duncan. After the murder of Duncan he thinks about what he has done and what it means for the future.”I’ll go no more./ I am afraid to think what I have done;/ Look on’t again I dare not.” (2.2.53-55). Macbeth’s second target is Banquo and his son Fleance. At a banquet at the castle …show more content…
She was the force that drove Macbeth to commit the murders. Even though she felt guilty about all of the murders, she only played a direct role in Duncan’s. After the Murder of Duncan she says “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t” (2.2.12-12) Lady Macbeth is saying that she could not have lived with herself if she had killed Duncan. The other two murders that Macbeth ordered, Lady Macbeth did not know about them until after they had already happened. Even though Lady Macbeth seemed to be less affected by the murders than Macbeth, but the Doctor and a nurse witness Lady Macbeth sleepwalking and trying to wash Duncan’s blood off her hands. “The Queen, my lord, is dead.”(5.5.16) Before Macduff and the English army get to Birmingham wood and the battle for the castle she commits suicide because she could not live with the guilt anymore. Another person was driven by guilt and revenge because of the actions of Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth’s mental health changes dramatically throughout the play. When Macbeth first commits the murder of Duncan he was already feeling the guilt of killing him before he had even acted against Duncan. After the murder of Duncan he thinks about what he has done and what it means for the future.”I’ll go no more./ I am afraid to think what I have done;/ Look on’t again I dare not.” (2.2.53-55). Macbeth’s second target is Banquo and his son Fleance. At a banquet at the castle …show more content…
She was the force that drove Macbeth to commit the murders. Even though she felt guilty about all of the murders, she only played a direct role in Duncan’s. After the Murder of Duncan she says “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t” (2.2.12-12) Lady Macbeth is saying that she could not have lived with herself if she had killed Duncan. The other two murders that Macbeth ordered, Lady Macbeth did not know about them until after they had already happened. Even though Lady Macbeth seemed to be less affected by the murders than Macbeth, but the Doctor and a nurse witness Lady Macbeth sleepwalking and trying to wash Duncan’s blood off her hands. “The Queen, my lord, is dead.”(5.5.16) Before Macduff and the English army get to Birmingham wood and the battle for the castle she commits suicide because she could not live with the guilt anymore. Another person was driven by guilt and revenge because of the actions of Macbeth and Lady