Guilt In Macbeth

Shakespeare's pre-Gothic Jacobean tragedy, 'Macbeth’, first performed in 1606 is one that demonstrates the psychological deterioration of the central characters. In Macbeth's case, ambition is broken by guilt - and guilt is overwhelmed by brutal ambition. This tragic disposition enables the audience to empathise with him, as he is crippled from the stature of a hero to that of a pathetic criminal but, due to his merciless reign of tyranny, it is more of a struggle to hold any form of sympathy.

In Scene One of Act Two (in anticipating the murder of Duncan) guilt takes its hold and Macbeth falls into a state of psychosis, losing his ability to discern reality from the fantastical and when left in the solitary company of his mind, Macbeth
No man”, but also the murder of Duncan's guards. The oxymoron, “violent love” almost summarises Macbeth's hamartia, and by no means justifies the “breach in nature” that is, regicide. Malcolm and Donalbain however, are not fooled by the speech, and decide to flee in fear of being murdered, showing just how void Macbeth is of communicative abilities, externalising his internal unfamiliarity with the nature of humanity, and the possibly nature of himself. Macbeth grows increasingly troubled, and (in Act Three, Scene Two) spills his honest feelings before his wife, Lady Macbeth. He feels that it is impossible to go on living a normal life under what was believed by Jacobeans to be torture from one's conscious – Insomnia: “In the affliction of these terrible dreams / That shake us nightly” Within this scene, references to nature are notable, stressing the authority of divine, and the chain of being. For example, “full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife” is so powerful since the sting of a scorpion is often fatal, and the terror evoked by such imagery, exacerbated by the fear of the unknown or exotic (a typical element of modern Gothic literature) helps us to stand, for a moment, in Macbeth’s shoes - though the feeling is never quite comprehendible. His mind is full of poisonous
The word “bond” reflects Lady Macbeth’s desire to change her sex in Act One, and now Macbeth tries to get rid of his links to humanity. Macbeth seeks to become cold blooded and isolate himself from feelings of guilt, in order to feel only ambition. This also symbolises the start of Macbeth moving slowly towards his tragic destiny. There are two rhyming couplets at the end of the scene where Macbeth says, “Good things of day begin to droop and drowse, / Whiles Night’s black agents to their preys do rouse. / Thou marvelle’st at my words: but hold thee still. / Things bad began make strong themselves by ill”. These four lines contain end rhymes and it is important to note this talking style relates closely to the witches in Act One and this further suggests Macbeth is overpowered by