Guilt and Ambition in Shakespeare's Macbeth

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title character Macbeth and his wife are both exceptionally ambitious, often taking rather radical measures to accomplish their goals. While this ruthless drive to power is seemingly prosperous at first, it quickly crumbles to naught as guilt infects their minds with grim consequences to follow. Macbeth transforms from a noble general to a guilt-ridden and despaired murderer, while Lady Macbeth’s usually stoic and masculine persona deteriorates into a pitiful and anxious shell of her former self. The feeling of remorse quickly plagues the two characters and overpowers ambition through manifesting itself through nightmares, ghosts, and paranoia, and ultimately leads to their demise.

Macbeth, initially a respected and brave person, falls victim to his ambition and becomes guilt-stricken and paranoid. At the very start of the play, it is evident that Macbeth is the meeker half of the duo and feels remorse very early on in the play. The first prominent burst of guilt is illustrated immediately after Duncan’s murder when Macbeth feverishly says, “One cried, 'God bless us!' and 'Amen,' the other,/ As they had seen me with these hangman's hands;/ Listening their fear, I could not say, 'Amen,'/ when they did say 'God bless us'” (2.2.37-40). It is clear that Macbeth feels intense guilt and shock upon committing a sin, which is why he is so fixated on his inability to pray. His hands are bloody, both literally and figuratively, implying that the stains on his hands are guilt and cannot be washed off, just as the hangman’s hands are permanently covered in blood. Furthermore, these feelings continue to haunt Macbeth as he takes Duncan’s place as king. As quoted from his remark to Lady Macbeth, “Ere we eat our m...

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...is time to do’t” (5.1.32-33). As she relives the night of Duncan’s murder, her feelings consume her further and evolves into a mental illness. Ambition is wiped from Lady Macbeth’s mind as is her boldness, leaving behind overwhelming guilt and a damaged mind.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience intensifying feelings of guilt that manifest themselves through nightmares, ghosts, and anxiety and plague the duo until their gruesome deaths. Macbeth, originally a noble man, succumbs to his ambition and becomes consumed by it. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth finds herself overwhelmed with guilt and panic, a contrast to her usual stoic and bold self. In the ultimate struggle between ambition and guilt, guilt dominates and confounds the Macbeths, leading to their downfall.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Ken Roy. 2nd ed. Toronto: Harcourt, Nelson, n.d. Print.