Sympathy For Macbeth

Lauren Roshan-Kashani Mrs. Heneidi Honors English-Period 3 2.14.16 Means to an End Macbeth is the story of a man who is deeply ambitious and greedy, yet loving and moral. Macbeth has strong morals but does not abide by them, but his morals may be the reason many readers feel sympathy for this complex character. Macbeth is a prime example of a character who has great moral boundaries, but does not exercise his own advice. Not utilizing his moral compass causes a lot of problems for his character. Macbeth is a corrupt ruler, but his guilty conscious makes him a tragic hero. Although Macbeth makes hostile choices, the reader feels sympathy for him because he expresses extreme guilt for his malicious actions. Macbeth, the tragic play written …show more content…

Macbeth has tarnished all the achievements and praise he has worked towards, and in the process has fallen into a world of darkness and lies. The murder of Duncan is the stepping stone that leads to Macbeth 's life of anguish and suffering. Macbeth will suffer a great deal of pain because of his guilty conscious. Macbeth’s remorse prevents him from fully enjoying his ill gotten gains. He feels dishearten at being responsible for the murder of Duncan. Even at the start of his rule he is described as a hero and this quality is still present even in his darkest hours. “List 'ning their fear, I could not say 'Amen, ' when they did say 'God bless us '. Methought, I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep’.” (2.2.14) Macbeth believes he has tarnished his right to say prayers. After the murder of Duncan Macbeth feels ashamed and remorseful of his actions. He is unable to sleep or do anything that he would normally do because he has a guilty conscious. This quote shows that Macbeth believes that it is his fault for “murdering his sleep” Macbeth even states that he cannot utter prayers because he will tarnish the true meaning of prayer. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood. Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.” This allusion to the Roman God of the sea shows that Macbeth believes not even the gods can …show more content…

Not only does he feel guilty about murdering Duncan but also feels responsible for his wife’s suicide. Only a man with a good heart would feel responsible for someone else’s acts of suicide. This makes the reader feel sympathy for Macbeth even though two important characters are dead at his hands. Lady Macbeth 's suicide is a pivotal step in Macbeth 's atonement. Macbeth accepts that death will come for him soon, and realizes that it is the only way to relieve himself of the extreme guilty he feels. “Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Raze out the written troubles of the brain And with some sweet oblivious antidote Cleanse the stuff 'd bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart?” Macbeth wants to feel clean again. He desperately wants the anecdote for his guilt and cannot contain his anger towards himself. "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life 's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” This quote is from where Macbeth finds out his wife has committed