Pontius Pilate

• "A little water clears us of this deed / How easy it is, then!" 2:2
• Many people in Shakespeare's audience would have recognised the biblical reference to the washing of the hands. The reference is to Pontius Pilate who publicly washes his hands and claims he is not guilty for condemning Christ to death, rather buckling under the pressure from Jewish leaders who believed Jesus was a threat to Roman rule and must be dealt with.
• It could be said that Lady Macbeth is behaving in a similar vein, simply washing her hands of the situation and hoping the water will wash away the 'stain' of Duncan's death. Some readers may even go as far as to say the Weird Sisters are to blame for Duncan's death by prophesising Macbeth's ascension from Thane, to God's representative on Earth.
• As the play unfolds and the Macbeths begin to suffer the consequences of committing regicide, Lady Macbeth in particular thinks she she sees blood on her hands - perhaps a manifestation of the guilt she failed to feel immediately after the murder of Duncan.