Preview

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's Guilt Essay Example

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
467 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's Guilt Essay Example
<b>Through The View Of A Reader, The Reasons Why Macbeth Is More Guilty By His Actions Then Lady Macbeth Is By Hers.</b><br><br>Macbeth is a very exciting story containing all kinds of plots and murders. The characters that are killing and are planning murders are all very deceiving and treacherous. Two of the most dangerous criminals in this play are Lady Macbeth and her husband. Together they commit the most dreadful murder by killing the King; Duncan. This is why it is difficult to determine which one of these two is more guilty, because they each do their own part in committing the crime. Lady Macbeth would prepare the plan and then encourage Macbeth to go through with it. Macbeth did the actual murdering, he was also the first person who thought about killing Duncan. Furthermore he did some killing on his own. Lady Macbeth did not have any involvement in these cases. Based on these facts, Macbeth would be found more guilty than Lady Macbeth.<br><br><br>The very first murder in this story was committed on Duncan. This crime was planned by both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The actual murder was done by Macbeth, making him more guilty of the crime. Lady Macbeth just talked about committing the crime, but she never actually went through with it nor would she ever, and that is all that counts. Talking about committing the incident is very different from actually doing it. Lady Macbeth did a little more than just talk about it though. She also urged Macbeth into doing it and that is what makes her part of this crime, but she is not as guilty as Macbeth. He really didn't have to listen to what his wife said. Macbeth had a mind of his own and he could make his own decision. The other murders that Macbeth was involved in were not committed by him, but were ordered by him. The people who did the killing had no choice, they had to do it, because they worked for Macbeth. Macbeth knew this and was a bit more guilty in these murders then lady Macbeth was when she urged

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    She will drug the kings grooms. Macbeth will then go into the king's room and murder him in his sleep.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth plays a major role in influencing her husband to take the path that he does. She is the catalyst that effectively unleashes Macbeth’s true side of evil. Throughout the play we can see that she has a strong influence on him and is a primary cause for increasing Macbeth’s ambition. Lady Macbeth’s words to her husband as well as her many powerful soliloquies show us her great desire to become Queen and hence urge Macbeth to murder Duncan as well as begin his reign of tyranny. However, in no way can Lady Macbeth be seen as the sole influence on Macbeth. Although Macbeth appears to be greatly subordinate to his wife in terms of levels of evil, he is still an extremely ambitious and powerful character. She greatly helps him throughout the play to get him through various problems. In the earlier acts of the play we can see that Lady Macbeth’s words mean a lot to her husband, giving the impression that she is definitely the dominant figure in the relationship. Lady Macbeth has a strong influence on her husband and is a sole reason why Macbeth acts as he did.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Duncan's Murder

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever felt guilty? Guilt is defined as the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime. Guilt is capable of leading some people into some crazy situations. For example, Macbeth it is about guilt and argues that guilt can change people. Health, mentality, and desire are all affected by the feeling of guilt.…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth is guiltier than Lady Macbeth because Macbeth actually committed the crime of killing king Duncan. When Macbeth is on his way to kill King Duncan he says, “I go, and it is done. The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell” (II. i. 62-64). While Macbeth is coming back from committing the crime of killing King Duncan he says, “I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?” (II. ii. 14) we can see that in the citation Macbeth has just now finished killing Duncan. Because of this Macbeth is guiltier than Lady Macbeth because he has actually committed the deed of killing Duncan. Throughout the story there is a motif of guilt that Macbeth feels before and after he committed the crime.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All through acts four and five we see Macbeth change dramatically. He went from a trusted thane to blood thirsty killer, killing people for no reason sometimes. Macbeth’s hubris, pathos and Macbeth’s internal struggle all become clear in these last two acts.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth have influenced Macbeth when she said “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear…” (I.v.26-29). Lady knows how her husband is unsure about what he wants to do with the king so she make up his mind for him. Lady Macbeth plans the murder and makes Macbeth feel like he doesn't have a choice. Although these arguments portray Lady Macbeth as a conspirator, she is not a murder. Lady Macbeth did not commit the murder with her own hands. Macbeth has his own conscience and is capable of making his own decisions. He knows the difference between right and wrong and he knows consequences come with his…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Macbeth three witches prophesied that Macbeth would be king. Doing what anyone else would do, he told his wife and she brewed up this plan to murder the king. The king would be staying at the Macbeth’s castle, Inverness for a party. At first Macbeth was against the plan but Lady Macbeth was not backing down and talked him into it. “Macbeth talks himself into a kind of thoughtful stupor as he tries to work out the situation for himself. In the following scene, Lady Macbeth will emerge and drive the hesitant Macbeth to act; she is the will propelling his achievements. Once Lady Macbeth hears of the witches’ prophecy, Duncan’s life is doomed.”( Shakespeare A 1, 1–4) Her plan was well thought out and she could not wait. He patience overpowered her excitement though as she waited for him to fall fast asleep. Soon after he was asleep she had drugged the guards and Shoved Macbeth in towards the kings resting area. Macbeth was…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Of all Shakespeare's female characters Lady Macbeth stands out far beyond the rest — remarkable for her ambition, strength of will, cruelty, and dissimulation” (Traits of Lady). Lady Macbeth is usually viewed as an interesting character because of her notable traits. Her cruelty, cunning, and manipulation certainly contribute to one’s fascination with her. However, equally intriguing are Lady Macbeth’s notorious views she possesses. The unyielding views Lady Macbeth holds on manhood, womanhood, and guilt greatly affect her life.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth practice essay

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, being a tragic hero or villain is a debatable dilemma of Macbeth's character. Some people think Macbeth is a tragic-hero because he is forced to commit his crimes by the spell of the three witches and the pressure from his wife. But other people think that Macbeth may be a villain due to his bloody deeds and over-ambition.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the beginning of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth shows no signs of guilt after murdering King Duncan. When she returns to her chamber with Macbeth by her side, their bodies and night clothes are covered in the blood of the king. They quickly remove any evidence of their evil act by scrubbing the blood off of their clothes and bodies. Unlike Macbeth, who is distraught by the murder, Lady Macbeth shows that she is unmoved by their actions when she scolds Macbeth for becoming hysterical and showing signs of cowardice. She helps him wash the blood from his hands and informs him that the blood means nothing. She insists that the water will wash away their sins. Lady Macbeth simply rinsing off the blood and removing any remains of her committed crime reveals…

    • 138 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Act I of The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, King Duncan gets murdered. The characters in this play are trying to figure out who is to blame for his murder. There are a couple characters that could be blamed, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and the Witches. I feel that the witches are to blame.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the end drew near, Lady Macbeth was no longer able to drive off the guilt, while Macbeth became unreined and free, relying completely on himself. As time goes on, Lady Macbeth’s guilt grows stronger while she is given less to do: “She had no way of escaping from her own thoughts, no way of plunging into such a course of action as might help to keep away the remembrance of the past or to relieve the present” (Munro 33). As her guilt has caught up with her, Lady Macbeth has been driven completely insane. She has literally become sick with guilt. As Munro states “She had obtained the object of her desires, but it was, in the attainment of it, turned into fire and ashes on her lips. The crown was placed on her head, but it weighed upon her…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We know that Macbeth is a brave and valiant soldier, ready to die for his king, Duncan. However, the prophecies of the witches have a powerful effect on him, especially when he learns the first has come true, and he becomes the Thane of Cawdor. He thinks more and more about being king, and he is easily persuaded to agree to murder Duncan. However, he often appears weak - he starts to have visions, he asks lots of questions, he cannot make a decision and never really seems sure of himself. For instance, he panics just after the murder and has to rely on his wife to find an alibi.…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth's character is painted in the segment of her reading of the letter in Act 1, Scene 5. She is presented full of lust for power and manipulative, using her cunning to get what she wants.In the letter. Macbeth writes to Lady Macbeth of his promotion to thane of Glamis and Cawdor, the Weird sisters, and the witches prophecies of him being king. She knows he is too moral and ethical to act on his ambition and chance to be king. She vows he will get what is rightfully his and will go to any measure, take any provisions to see to his crowning. She starts plotting the murder of King Duncan. Conspiring upon the messengers announcement of the arrival of the King, she states; “That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.” (Act 1, Scene 5) Her lust for power, driving her to dirty and aggressive methods, shows she has little…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays