Rishiraj Das 11CEM

Explore how Shakespeare vividly shows how wrong this belief proves to be
Lady Macbeth is shown to be a pragmatic, cunning and manipulative woman who has no qualms
to commit murder in order to satisfy her ambitions. Her husband, under her influence
participates in her plan and succeeds in becoming King. As the play progresses, however, her
mental state begins to deteriorate, presumably from guilt, which culminates in her suicide. This
transformation is also mirrored by Macbeth, who begins to lose his sanity and is subject to
hallucinations, insomnia and an inability to pray to God.

At first, Lady Macbeth is convinced that the deed merely requires a ‘little water’ to wash
their hands clean, and she is frustrated by Macbeth’s emotional response to the murder. She
states ‘I shame to wear a heart so white’. ‘White’ in this context connotes with cowardice and
surrender, as white flags are often used to convey surrendering. Macbeth hyperbolically
questions ‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand’. ‘Neptune’ is the
Roman god of the oceans and this reference suggests that Macbeth’s guilt is so overwhelming
that he feels all the water in the world would be unable to cleanse him of his sin. Instead, the
blood of Duncan would turn ‘the green one red’ implying the oceans would redden with the
amount of blood spilt. Lady Macbeth reacts dismissively stating ‘a little water clears of this
deed’. Ironically, while water would wash away any physical evidence of the slaughter,
especially relevant to the religious time period in which this is set, spiritually, her sin would
remain and she would be forever tarnished as such.

However, Macbeth realises that there are spiritual consequences to his actions; he can
no longer communicate with God or sleep at night. Confused, Macbeth voices his concerns with
being unable to say ‘Amen’. This suggests that as a result of treason and disrupting the divine
right of Kings, Macbeth has severed his connection with God and is now completely isolated. His
fear of hell and condemnation has created a ‘lump’ in his throat, preventing him from praying
and relieving the burden of his actions. Additionally, troubled with paranoia, guilt and regret,
Macbeth becomes an insomniac and is unable to sleep. Shakespeare demonstrates that those
who commit sin can find no relief, not even in sleep and are condemned with living with guilt for
the rest of their lives.

Moreover, Macbeth quickly falls prey to guilt-ridden hallucinations and hauntings. In Act
3 Scene 4, Macbeth hallucinates Banquo at the feast after commanding his assassination,
highlighting his fragile state of mind. He states that a ‘rugged Russian bear’ and a ‘Hyrcan tiger’
would never tremble his ‘firm nerves’ demonstrating his fear for the metaphysical, as his
physical prowess would be of no use. Banquo’s appearance as a hallucination could be
interpreted to be a representation of his conscience, which he would also be unable to defeat
with physical power.

Indeed, by the end of the play, Lady Macbeth’s mind is so corrupted by the murder that
she cannot wash the blood from her hands, mirroring Macbeth’s earlier claim that his hands are
permanently stained by the deed. In Act 5 Scene 1, Lady Macbeth is shown to be sleepwalking,
confessing her sins unconsciously in front of a doctor and her maid. During this she exclaims ‘out
damned spot!’ The exclamation here emphasises her insanity. It now seems that she too as well
is unable to ‘wash away’ her sin. Moreover, her fragmented state of mind is reflected in her use
of fragmented speech which is littered with pauses and breaks.