Concetti Chiave
- The murder of King Duncan reveals the contrasting reactions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth; Macbeth is consumed by guilt while Lady Macbeth remains detached and manipulative.
- Lady Macbeth mocks Macbeth's fear and cowardice, taking control by returning the daggers to Duncan's room herself, illustrating their unbalanced relationship.
- Macbeth's paranoia about being discovered is highlighted by his personification of Sleep, symbolizing innocence and vulnerability.
- Shakespeare employs hyperbole when Macbeth suggests that Neptune's ocean cannot cleanse his hands, emphasizing his overwhelming guilt.
- The narrative foreshadows a role reversal in their relationship, as Lady Macbeth eventually succumbs to madness, paralleling Macbeth's initial guilt-driven state.
Macbeth and the Sense of Guilt
This passage deals with the king Duncan's murder by Macbeth, who is completely
obsessed by his sense of guilt, while Lady Macbeth is much more pityless and self confident. The two of them, indeed, react to what has been done in different ways: Macbeth is paranoid and is afraid of someone discovering it, while Lady Macbeth is completely numb. Indeed she mocks him and rebukes him, she brainwashes him and blackmails him, this shows that their relationship is unbalanced, and will be until the end.
Lady Macbeth and the Mockery
Macbeth is really afraid of going in Duncan's room to bring the daggers back, so Lady Macbeth does it, calling him “infirm of purpose”; and whe she comes back she makes fun of him saying “my hands are of your colour, but i shame to wear a heart so white”, she mocks him for being a coward, indeed white doesn't reffer to purity but to cowardice.
In this passage there are many rhetorical devices, for example Macbeth personifies Sleep, which is innocent because sleeping people are defenseless and harmless, he emphasises this because he killed Duncan while he was asleep. Furthermore, Shakespeare used an hyperbole when Macbeth claims that not even all of Neptune's ocean will be able to clean his hands from blood. Lady Macbeth is not concerned at all by these feelings, indeed she remarks him that if he keeps thinking about it, he will become mad; indeed at the end she will become mad and start sleepwalking trying to wash out the blood of her hands. This is connected with the idea of sleep conveyed by Macbeth. That's why their relationship wll be unbalanced until the end, because their personalities will reverse, she will become as he was at the beginning and viceversa.
Domande da interrogazione
- How do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's reactions to Duncan's murder differ?
- What rhetorical devices does Shakespeare use to convey Macbeth's guilt?
- How does the theme of sleep relate to the characters' transformations?
Macbeth is consumed by guilt and paranoia, fearing discovery, while Lady Macbeth is pitiless and confident, mocking and rebuking him for his cowardice, highlighting their unbalanced relationship.
Shakespeare uses personification and hyperbole, such as personifying Sleep to emphasize innocence and claiming that not even Neptune's ocean can cleanse Macbeth's hands of blood, illustrating his overwhelming guilt.
Sleep symbolizes innocence and defenselessness; Macbeth's guilt over killing Duncan in his sleep foreshadows Lady Macbeth's eventual madness and sleepwalking, as their personalities reverse and their relationship remains unbalanced.
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