Examples Of Shame In Macbeth

Everyone has experienced some form of guilt and shame in their life. Webster’s dictionary defines guilt as “the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously” and shame as “a painful emotion caused by the consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.” Whether it be something small such as lying to an authority figure to horrific acts of murder, people feel guilty for the bad actions they’ve done. Depending on the person, this guilt can display in different ways: self-harm, suicidal thoughts or actions, depression, paranoia, and occasionally, hallucinations. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, guilt and shame influence the actions and behavior of Macbeth by manifesting into hallucinations, often resulting in doubts about his morality.

The first instance of a guilty conscious creating hallucinations in Macbeth is the bloody dagger in Act 2 Scene 1. In Macbeth’s soliloquy, he is contemplating whether or not to follow through with Lady Macbeth’s plan of murdering Duncan, and in this process, attempts to grab an imaginary floating dagger. The dagger is a physical embodiment of

The original prophecy from the Weird States foretells their destinies “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!... Thou(Banquo) shalt get kings, though thou be none.” (Shakespeare 1.3.53,70) As the witches state, even though Macbeth will be the next King of Scotland, Banquo’s lineage will be on the throne afterward. As a result, Macbeth is paranoid that his reign will be cut short and arranges the death of Banquo and Fleance. Proceeding with the crime, Macbeth later receives the news that only Banquo has been killed. Macbeth’s paranoia, guilt, and shame manifest into an envisionment of Banquo’s ghost at Inverness. Upon Macbeth seeing the ghost, Lady Macbeth attempts to calm him down, to which he