guilt

Cards (11)

  • we'd jump the life to come'
    - macbeth is aware that committing the murder will mean sacrificing an afterlife in heaven
    - moral and religious parts of guilt
  • stop up th'access and passage to remorse'
    - LM's weakness is her guilt, this is what eventually leads her to suicide
    - shows how a lack of remorse is impossible for a human as she calls to evil spirits
  • heat-oppressed brain'

    - his vision of the dagger is a premonition of the violence and guilt to come
    - 'heat-oppressed' refers to the pressure that guilt puts on someone, likening it to a fever
  • I could not pronounce Amen'

    - he may never atone for his sin
    - he has been denied god's forgiveness
  • macbeth shall sleep no more'
    - macbeth braces himself for the restless nights he is to endure
    - active, haunted conscience
    - those who are guilty are self destructive
  • will all neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?'

    - blood is a symbol of guilt, water is purity of life
    - foreshadows how guilt destroys him, he cannot get rid of the guilt
  • O full of scorpions is my mind'

    - his paranoia is like continuous stings
    - shows the intense psychological torture macbeth goes through as a result of his guilt
  • what's done is done' (LM)
    - guilt is inescapable, they'll have to suffer the consequences of their actions
  • what's done cannot be undone' (LM- later)

    - repetition makes it seem like she is trying to let go and face reality
    - the change from 'is done' to 'cannot be undone' gives the impression that her desperation and guilt have increased
  • this is the very painting of your fear'
    - lady macbeth has the same pragmatic tone in this scene; she dismissed his hallucinations
    - the guilt has not got to her yet
  • out damned spot'

    - her guilt leads to her being tormented by a vision of spots of the motif blood on her hands
    - guilt has destroyed her strong and assertive personality