At first Lady Macbeth tries to steady her husband, but she becomes enraged when she notices that Macbeth has forgotten to leave the daggers with the sleeping guards to frame them for Duncan’s murder. He refuses to go back into the room, so Lady Macbeth takes the daggers to the guards herself. As she leaves, Macbeth hears a mysterious knocking. The great sound scares him, and he asks desperately, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood - Clean from my hand?” (II,ii 58–59). As Lady Macbeth reenters the hall, the knocking comes again. She takes him back to the bedchamber, where they can wash off the blood. “A little water clears us of this deed,” she tells him. “How easy it is then!” (II,ii 65–66).
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Both Macbeth and his wife want to clean their hands by using water, but Macbeth feels as if the blood will never go away because he is really feeling guilty for the crime he committed. While his wife, Lady Macbeth thinks that the water will clean the blood, and everything will be as…
- 445 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Lady Macbeth is more responsible for King Duncan’s murder because she had higher ambitions than Macbeth. She forced evilness upon herself and her high ambitions pushed her to the point of no regret for murdering the king. Lady Macbeth says, “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe topful Of direst cruelty”(1.5.30-32). This is a clear example of how her ambitions have driven her to the point of evil acts to commit this crime. The act of calling for the evil spirits in order to follow through with a murder is a good reason why King Duncan was murdered. Lady Macbeth also had not only forced herself to murder the king but to force her husband to follow through with the plan of the murder…
- 270 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Shakespeare uses symbolism to convey the destructive power of shame. Initially, Macbeth plans to kill Duncan in his sleep. Sleep is seen to be a state of peace. This foreshadows Macbeth feeling guilty about killing Duncan and people are usually unable to sleep when they feel guilty. This also foreshadows Lady Macbeth sleepwalking and washing her hands to get rid of the “blood” that is on her hands.…
- 161 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
The guilt that Macbeth feels is real from the start. It can be evaluated throughout the play with how he acts and some things he says. When Macbeth had killed Duncan, the guilt is obvious as soon after committing the bad deed. Macbeth’s guilt is evident that when a servant had said “God bless us,” Macbeth couldn’t “say “Amen”” (2.2.28). He isn't able to bring himself to say it due to him knowing that he had just killed a man for his own selfish gain. Macbeth knows that what he did was a horrible deed and now he is acknowledging his consequences which include guilt. Following Duncan’s death, Macbeth is never himself again, which could be because of the guilt. Macbeth believes that he is “in blood stepped in so far, should [he] wade no more,…
- 289 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Then, in the same scene, Macbeth says l. 46 to 47: “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep!”…
- 955 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The recently killed King Duncan just awarded Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth age 30, is now suspect for the murders of King Duncan and his guards early saturday morning. Macduff age 32 suspects foul play. Macduff says “ When I discovered King Duncan and his guards dead I immediately rushed to Macbeth. Although I was not reassured when he let slip that he was the one who discovered Duncan and in his rage killed the guards.” Yesterday afternoon when Duncan was welcomed into the Macbeth manner, Lady Macbeth was allegedly plotting according to one of the maids. Lisa, a maid of the Macbeth house; overheard Lady Macbeth say “To be beguile the time, Look like the time: Bear welcome in your eye, your tongue: Look like than innocent flower,…
- 228 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
- I cannot believe what my hands look like, what will it take to wash this blood clean from my hand? Nothing, there is so much blood that it would die the ocean red. - In this passage, Macbeth refers to his hand three times. Each time he is speaking of the blood on his hands. However he is not merely speaking of his actual hands, but of his guilt and dirty conscience. At this point Macbeth feels so guilty of his crime that he will not be able to clear/wash his mind of it. He says that not even the ocean can clean the blood from his…
- 759 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to, “unbend your noble strength to think / So brainsickly of things,” commanding him to ignore his cowardice and misgivings. Lady Macbeth assumes that the crimes Macbeth commits will be forgivable; however, Macbeth understands the graveness of his actions when he asks, “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?”, and responds by saying: “No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red” (2.2.45-46,78-81). Macbeth knows that he will be haunted by the murder of Duncan for the rest of his life, that it is not something that can just be brushed off, and immediately regrets his actions, stating, “Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!” (2.4.75). Again, Shakespeare displays Macbeth’s guilt and pairs his guilt with the symbol of blood. As the list of those dead at the hands of Macbeth expands, so does Macbeth’s guilt, and the references to blood and…
- 995 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Macbeth needed to kill King Duncan in order to get closer to his goal of becoming King but was scared. Macbeth states, “[I]f th’ assassination/ Could trammel up the consequence and catch,/ With his surcease, success; that but this blow/ Might be the be-all and the end-all here,/ But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,/ We’d jump the life to come.” (1.7.2-7). Macbeth is weak and does not have the courage to commit murder. He fears all the consequences and problems that will arise if the King is murdered. A man that is weak and lacks courage shows a feminine quality according to the stereotypical gender roles. Furthermore, Macbeth feels guilty after killing King Duncan in his sleep. He states, “ Methought I heard a voice cry 'sleep no more!/ Macbeth does murder sleep', the innocent sleep,/ Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care,/ The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath,/ Balm of hurt minds,” (2.2.35-39). Macbeth kills King Duncan and he starts to hear voices in his head because of the guilt. Macbeth experiences a shock of hearing these voices as he realizes what he has done. Not to mention, he is weak and cannot control his actions after the murder as he fails to hide the evidence, the dagger. The stereotypical gender roles subvert as weakness is seen as a feminine quality. Then, Macbeth kills the family of Macduff by planning murders using his power. He states, “To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done:/ The castle of Macduff I will surprise/ Seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’th’ sword/ His wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls/ That trace him in his line.” (4.1.149-153). Macbeth feels powerful and wants to take desperate actions. He uses his power as he wants to attack the castle of Macduff. The plan also includes murdering the family of Macduff. Macbeth gets the family killed and is showing signs of power during…
- 1393 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Macbeth carries the burden of his deeds on his shoulders, causing him to lose a terribly large amount of peace and rest in his life. When Macbeth goes to kill Duncan, he hears voices in his conscience telling him, “Still it cried sleep no more! to all the house./ Glamis hath murdered sleep and therefore/ Cawdor / Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more” (Shakespeare, 2.2.54-57). Macbeth gets a warning in his mind that is trying to get him to back away from his plan and show him that what he is doing is not justified. Macbeth still does not back away from the crime, which only leads him to guilt rising within him. Guilt is like a craving; it eats away at your mind and takes away the life necessities. It constantly nags at you and worries you to death because it will not suppress until people admit to it or suppress it in a way. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that he is losing sleep and he needs to stop worrying about the crime. As Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth, “You lack the season of all natures, sleep” (Shakespeare, 3.4.173). Sleep no longer comes easily to Macbeth because he is constantly replaying the horrendous crime in his head. Macbeth needs to force sleep upon him otherwise he does not get the sleep he needs to remain sane. The replaying guilt in a person is like a constant reminder of the crimes and wrongdoings someone did. The guilt only gets worse as…
- 936 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
As the play progresses the feelings of guilt begin to rise to new levels in terms of corrosiveness, Macbeth claims that that "[he] does murder sleep", sleep which "knits up the raveled sleave of care." The repition of the word sleep further emphasises how important it was considered, as sleep is an escape from reality, thus implying, having murdered Duncan Macbeth feels as if though he will feel guilty for the remainder of the time due to the fact he will not be able to sleep peacefully again. Sleep is seen as a prerogative of those who have no guilty conscience. It is evident that Macbeth does not sleep and when…
- 1033 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Macbeth kills King Duncan, so he could become king. After the death of King Duncan, Macbeth enters the room, where Lady Macbeth is. His hands covered in blood, meaning that he has completed the deed of killing Duncan. “I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?” Dr. Roxanne Dryden Edwards, a person who has PTSD, will experience hallucination.” (Act 2, Scene 2). After the death of Duncan, Macbeth is unable to sleep. In the story, Since Macbeth killed Duncan in his sleep; it also means that Macbeth can’t sleep…
- 757 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
When Macbeth “hears” a voice when killing Duncan, it foreshadows the insomnia that plagues Lady Macbeth and Macbeth…
- 642 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Macbeth brutally stabbed King Duncan because he was convinced by the witches, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, that it would make him king. Later that night, Macbeth looked at his blood stained hands and became mentally unbalanced. In this state of mind, he said, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”(Shakespeare 59) this shows that Macbeth realized that he cannot escape the image of bloodshed. He can never forget what he has done and his hands are a physical reminder. In his distressed state of mind, he was unable to rub blood on the servants in order to cast blame on them. This forced Lady Macbeth to take on the task of rubbing the King's blood on his servants. Macbeth’s quote, his fear of seeing his bloody victim and Lady Macbeth’s role shows a severe reaction to blood mentally and physically and marks the initial inescapable stain on Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s…
- 724 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Macbeth loses his conscience after murdering King Duncan. Initially, Macbeth is consumed by fear as he is haunted by the guilt after killing Duncan. Knowing that it is morally wrong, Macbeth has committed a foul crime which he cannot be forgiven for – “To know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself’. Macbeth loses his integrity and wish he had not murdered Duncan because such “bloody instructions, which, being taught (will only) return to plague the inventor”. He is disturbed by the terrible images of violence in his mind, and he is driven to paranoid obsession because “Macbeth doth murder sleep.” In these lines, Sleep is personified and it is characterized by its repairative qualities. However, because of the grave sins he has committed, Macbeth can no longer sleep as his wrongful deeds have “killed” it. Macbeth loses his sanity when he is appalled at seeing blood on his hands after murdering King Duncan, both literally and metaphorically, and says that “all the ocean’s water combined cannot wash away the blood”. Macbeth gradually becomes physically and spiritually tormented by his guilt and conscience till he cannot take it anymore. Although he was able to acquire the throne - “What he hath lost, noble…
- 790 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays