Meione Horton

Mrs. Tierce
English IV H
7 April 2015
Guilt
Voltaire, a French Enlightenment writer, once said, Every man is guilty of all the good
he did not do. In Macbeth, the readers witness Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experiencing the
results of evil doings. Guilt is defined as the fact of having committed a specified
crime(Dictionary.com). In this case, the specified crime would be the murder of King Duncan.
Macbeths downward spiral began when the witches visited him and told him he would be king.
They never said how or why, so this led Macbeth to take extreme measures to assure his spot on
the throne.
In Act I Scene III, Macbeth and Banquo are visited by three witches. When they approach
Macbeth, they address him using three different titles. The first witch addresses him y saying:
All hail, Macebth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!(I.iii.50). Thane of Glamis was Macbeths
original title. The second with addresses Macbeth by: All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of
Cawdor!(I.iii.51). The Thane of Cawdor was a traitor and Macbeth was not aware of this title.
The third witchs title takes Macbeth by surprise: All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king
hereafter!(I.iii.52). When the third witch addresses Macbeth by saying he would be king, he
thought nothing of it. However, as the play goes on, readers learn that Macbeth begins to think
deeply on what the witches have spoken. He thinks so deeply upon it, that he tells his wife. Lady
Macbeth then unravels an intricate plan to assure Macbeths spot as royalty. The plan includes

Macbeth killing King Duncan and blaming it on the guards who watch King Duncan. Before
Macbeth committed the crime, he would speak of how he did not want to go to hell because of
this incident and how he wanted a clear conscience. Sadly, everything that was not supposed to
happen, happened.
Act II Scene II, the murder of King Duncan took place. After the murder, there were
people who came to Macbeths door to confirm that it was not him who killed the king.
However, Macbeth was not in the right state of mind. He was in a deep state of hallucinating.
Lady Macbeth tried to console Macbeth, these deed must not be thought. After these ways; so, it
will make us mad(II.ii.44-45). Meaning, he must not think of what he has done because it will
make him go crazy. As the men are knocking on the door, Macbeth states: Wake Duncan with
thy knocking! I would thou couldst!(II.ii.92-93). This shows that Macbeth regrets killing
Duncan and he wishes that he could revive him. Before Macbeth killed Duncan, he wrote to his
wife that he believed he was too full of human kindness to commit the murder and now the
audience sees what he meant.
After the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth suggested they wash their hands, a
little water will clear us of this deed. Macbeth makes a reference to the ocean by saying that if
he washed his hands in the ocean, the ocean would turn red. Macbeths guilt shows in a
conspicuous way. He was never the type to do evil deeds, until his wife influenced him.
However, his wife does not show any signs of guilt, for now. Later in the play, the readers
discover that Lady Macbeth sleepwalks in the palace and talks to herself at night. While she is
sleepwalking, she says: out, damned spot!(V.i.35). This shows that Lady Macbeth believes,
consciously, that Duncans blood is still on her hands. While she is awake, the guilt does not

show, but when she is asleep, everything becomes apparent. Unfortunately, her maid and her
doctor took note of her behavior, so they know something is not right.
In conclusion, things should take place in a natural manner. If the kings reign in Scotland
had not been shortened abruptly, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth would not have guilt eating away
at them. They would have a clear conscience. Life would be normal for them. Everything is not
what it is made out to be, and guilt is not something to dabble with.