Guilt (LMB and MB) Flashcards
Umbrella
Whilst MB wrestles with guilt to become a cold-blooded murderer, LMB succumbs to a guilty conscience later in the play
Ts1- MB feels guilt at the murder of Duncan ws he knows he is a morally good king and the murder is unjustified
‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood from my hand?’
‘Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would thou coulds’t’
Ts2: After Banquo’s murder, MB’s guilt manifests itself in the form of Banquo’s ghost.
‘They rise again… and push us from our stools’
‘The bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold’
Ts3: as the play progresses, MB becomes more cold blooded and no longer wrestles with his guilty conscience before comitting murders.
‘Give to the edge of the sword his wife, his babes…’
‘I am in blood stepped in so far, returning were as tedious as go o’ er’
Ts4: Although LMB appears ruthless before Duncan’s murder, we see her guilty conscience when she begins sleepwalking; her guilt is so great it eventually leads her to commit suicide.
‘Will these hands ne’er be clean?’
‘All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’
‘Here’s the smell of the blood still’
Topic sentences:
Ts1- MB guilt at killing D
Ts2- MB guilt manifests itself in form of B’s ghost.
Ts3- MB becomes cold-blooded
Ts4- Although LMB appears ruthless before D’s murder, we see her guilty conscience when she begins sleepwalking- guilt so great she commits suicide
‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood from my hand?’
L= hyperbolic imagery emphasises the magnitude of his crime; even the God of the sea cant wash the blood away. D/I= the blood can be washed from his hands, but it will stain his conscience for eternity.
‘Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would thou coulds’t’
L= structurally it is significant that the murder scene ends with MB’s words of regret- it shows that MB feels deep guilt and remorse for killing a morally innocent king. The tragedy is that he cannot resurrect him or undo his actions. C= hes committed an act against God by killing a God appointed king (DRK)
‘They rise again… and push us from our stools’
L= the stools symbolise the throne- MB ordered B’s murder to protect his throne but B still threatens it from beyond the grave. B’s ghost is a projection of MB’s guilty conscience that increases his paranoia.
‘Give to the edge of the sword his wife, his babes…’
L= emotive language of ‘babes’ shows that MB no longer feels guilt at ordering murders; he is even now killing innocent infants. R= the audience despises MB as infants cannot defend themselves; he is no longer noble.
‘I am in blood stepped in so far, returning were as tedious as go o’er’
L= the imagery of the river of blood emphasises that MB feels it is pointless to feel guilt; he has been responsible for so many murders- they cannot be undone so it is pointless to feel guilty; he may as well continue to murder anyone who threatens him. R= audience feel pity for him as he cannot redeem himself.
‘Will these hands ne’er be clean?’
L= rhetorical question is an ironic contrast to LMB’s claim ‘a little water clears us of this deed’ after Duncan’s murder. C= sleepwalking believed in Jacobean era to be a sign of possession by evil spirits; modern audience knows it is her guilty conscience playing on her mind and giving her no rest.
