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Macbeth Guilt Essay

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Lathan Hagen Mr. Mathews Senior English 01 March 2023 Macbeth “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do” (Voltaire). William Shakespeare, in his play Macbeth, develops a theme of guilt, by revealing the characters thoughts and emotions. His theme emerges through asides, soliloquy, and symbols. Shakepeare uses asides to develop his theme of guilt because the audience is able to talk to themselves. An example of this is when Macbeth says "If chance will have me king,/why, chance may crown me/Without my stir”(1:3:144). What Shakespeare meant by including this is that Macbeth does not think that he needs to take action to become king and that fate will handle it. Earlier in the play Macbeth says “I am thane of Cawdor./If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair/And make my seated/heart knock at my ribs,/Against the use of nature? Present fears/Are less than horrible imaginings” (1:3:133-138). Macbeth starts to think about murdering the king and has an internal conflict on why he would think of such a thing. All in all, this helps support the overall theme of guilt because the …show more content…

"Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee./ I have thee not, and yet I see thee still" (2.1. 33-35). The use of this soliloquy demonstrates the guilt that Macbeth is feeling before he has even committed the act. "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well /It were done quickly: if the assassination/Could trammel up the consequence, and catch/ With his surcease success" (1.7.1-4). Macbeth does not want to kill the king but his ambition to become king makes him question if the rewards are worth the risks. As a result, this adds to the theme of guilt because we can see that Macbeth is not fully committed to killing the king and wonders what the consequences will

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