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Guilt can drive anyone mad if they let it. The story MacBeth is a perfect example of this. MacBeth and Lady MacBeth did many things in the play to have a mind full of guilt. MacBeth just handled it better than Lady MacBeth did; she let the guilt take her like a disease. Although, she broke under the pressure of a guilty conscience, doesn't mean that she had the most reasons for guilt she just couldn't handle the truth of what she did.
In the play MacBeth and Lady MacBeth had a desire to be king and queen of Scotland. At the time they didn't consider the tool it would take on their lives because their heads were full of greed. As Thane of Cawdor, MacBeth had a good relationship with the king. Duncan, the king trusted MacBeth fully which is very ironic since the last Thane of Cawdor was a traitor as well. Lady MacBeth devised a plan to kill the king in his sleep so her husband, MacBeth, could gain the title as king. They proceeded with the plan and MacBeth became king.
After sometime has past, Lady MacBeth realized she had all that she wanted and still was not happy. She realized her husband would do anything to cover up the terrible crime they did so he committed more crimes of murder. Lady MacBeth also felt responsible for his acts. Once again time took its toll and Lady MacBeth drove her self-crazy. She would sleep walk, talk mad, and shed tears that no one else understood. She then killed her self because the guilt was too much to handle.
Lady MacBeth wasn't the only one who had a guilty conscience. MacBeth did as well but his was a blind guilt he could over look. Not only did MacBeth commit the murder of the former king Duncan, but he was also responsible for the murder of his friend Banquo because he caught on to MacBeth. The crimes, however, didn't stop there. MacBeth also sends murderers to slaughter the family of MacDuff, a former friend and now enemy, that had fled to stand a front against MacBeth.
Even though MacBeth didn't show many signs of the guilt building inside him, at a conference that he held, the ghost of his former friend Banquo haunted him. The guilt just came to MacBeth other ways than it did to Lady MacBeth. Even though MacBeth and Lady MacBeth had a lot of guilt from evil things they " ve done in the past, MacDuff was covered with guilt as well. MacDuff went away to England to gather forces to stand a front against MacBeth but in the process left his family behind at home where they were slaughtered.
MacDuff was full of guilt for leaving his loved ones behind to be killed by MacBeth. From then on MacDuff swore to take revenge on his families deaths. He vowed to kill MacBeth by his own blade. Eventually he does, which opened a new door of guilt. He murdered another human being. Even though his motives were good.
It was still murder. No matter who you are and no matter what title you have, guilt can take over anyone. Even if your intentions are good, guilt could still sneak up on you. You could handle your guilt well like MacBeth or you could handle it like Lady MacBeth but it's still there. Guilt can ultimately drive a person mad and lead to their down fall, as it did in the play by William Shakespeare, MacBeth.
Free research essays on topics related to: macbeth and lady macbeth, friend banquo, guilty conscience, thane of cawdor, macduff
Research essay sample on Macbeth And Lady Macbeth Thane Of Cawdor
