How Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feel about death over time

March 10, 2014
Mr. Carriere
Period 3
Macbeth: Essay 6 William Shakespeare's Macbeth is filled with betrayal, hatred, and murder. King Duncan is in rule when the Macbeth's decide to take away the throne. However, with doing a wrong deed comes the feeling of guilt. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth struggle with the feeling of guilt whenever they kill another person. Macbeth was a noble man that was given a prophecy that he would become king. Driven by his desire for the throne, along with the encouragement of his wife Lady Macbeth, led Macbeth to kill king Duncan. After Duncan is murdered in his sleep, Macbeth feels guilt immediately. With Duncan's blood on his Macbeth's hands, he says that not even the oceans can wash away the blood. Lady Macbeth feels no remorse at all. She tells her husband that only a little water can rid him of his crime and that all will be okay. It seems that Lady Macbeth wants the throne more than her husband. Even though the Macbeth has killed Duncan the throne does not go to him. Instead it goes to another noble man named Banquo. Macbeth thinks since he has already killed one person that there is no going back, but two wrongs does not make a right. Macbeth hires two murders to kill Banquo and his son Fleance; do that Fleance will not take the throne after her father is killed. Unlike the killing of Duncan, the murder of Banquo was not influenced or suggests by Lady Macbeth. However she did not object to it either. Macbeth noon her feels guilty for what he has done. On fact it is the total opposite; he thinks that killing is going to make everything better. After all the murders Macbeth is finally king, but not for long. With the murders the whole kingdom is starting to think that their country is doomed. So a man named Macduff leaves to get Malcolm so that he can become king and help the country. As a result Macbeth kills Macduff's whole family; so that he can have no children and his bloodline can stop. For the first murder Macbeth feels guilty for what he has done. After the second he feels that it's what he has to do. Over the little period of time Lady Macbeth's feeling of guilt change as well. At first she did not care at all but eventually she started to feel guilty. Although she did not show it until one night when she was sleepwalking and sleep talking. While Lady M was sleepwalking she was rubbing her hands trying to get something off of them; like she was trying to wash away the blood of the people that were murdered. After she woke up and heard of what she was doing, she committed suicide. Once Macduff was told that his family was murdered he hurried back with Malcolm and an army so that they could take back the throne. While Macbeth and Macduff we're fighting Macbeth, in a way, apologized for killing his family. In the very end feeling guilty for the things he has done. Throughout the story the Macbeth's feeling of guilt constantly change. I'm the end they both are guilty for what they have done and they know it too.