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Appearance and reality is one of the key theme in this play. The appearance of the scene to some of the other characters are actually manipulated and is hiding the reality from them to know. For example, after Macbeth murdered Duncan, lady Macbeth cunningly manipulated the murder scene to make it seem like the servant committed the murder. Its appearance heavily affected the character's interpretation of the situation, not letting them to realize the reality.

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"Good" usually is defined as something that is morally right, while "Evil" is profoundly immoral.

In psychology, "Good" means a lack of self-centeredness, while "Evil" means an inability to empathize with others.

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The tragedy in the story was fundamentally caused by Macbeth's ambition for power. The 3 witches, in telling Macbeth that he will be the future king, triggered Macbeth's ambitions and led him to kill Duncan.

Macbeth knows that his actions are wrong and immoral, but his ambition drives him to commit the murders of Duncan and Banquo to secure his throne regardless.

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The prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall don, or else o'erleap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires . The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.

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Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.

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Oedipus Rex also had ambitions to save Thebes and find out the truth. Similarly, Oedipus's ambition also led to his tragedy. However, while Macbeth's ambitions were selfish, Oedipus's ambitions were more selfless.

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Difference between Guilt and Responsibility

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Difference between Guilt and Responsibility

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Guilt is a matter of directly traceable consequences by either causation or capacity to have effectively avoided harm. At the same time, responsibility is the broad duty to influence consequences notwithstanding incapacity to prevent harm directly. → Legal and Ethical perspectives

Responsibility is voluntary; guilt is an emotion.

Relationship: A responsible person is likely to feel guilty when he/she harms others or commits a crime, but an irresponsible person might not feel guilty in the same situation.

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"Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there. Go carry them and smear the sleepy grooms with blood."

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"Give me the daggers. If he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, For it must seem their guilt."

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"For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name; disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel." (Act 1, Scene 2)

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen." (Act 1, Scene 3)

These two quotes represent Macbeth's initial bravery, loyalty, and sense of honor.

"Stars hide your fires; let not light see by black and deep desires." (Act 1, Scene 4)

This quote highlights Macbeth's inner conflict and guilt before he committing regicide. Which means, he was not desired to kill the King, Lady Macbeth was taking her advantage to achieve her own goal.

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"That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here." (Act 1, Scene 5)

The word "unsex" highlights Lady Macbeth's willingness to break traditional gender roles and strongly pursuit power and ambition, forcing Macbeth to deviate from general moral boundaries.

"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't." (Act 1, Scene 5)

Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to appear innocent while being deceitful, using the imagery of a flower hiding a serpent to illustrate the need for cunning and hidden evilness in their actions.

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The theme of Guilt & Responsibility in the play

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The theme of Guilt & Responsibility in the play

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Macbeth and Lady Macbeth refuse to take responsibility for their actions - murder and manipulation, because they know that did something wrong and immoral. → So they do not feel guilty.

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They both have responsibility in deaths of the characters, such as Duncan and Banquo.

But they don’t feel guilty – at least, Macbeth feels some after he kills Duncan, but Lady Macbeth does not at all.

1. Macbeth:

Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.

→ He wants no one to see the terrible and “dark” desires within him, which shows that he is trying to hide away from the guilt.

2. Macbeth:

(looking at his bloody hands) This is a sorry sight. Lady Macbeth: That’s a stupid thing to say.

→ showing shameless Lady Macbeth

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Lady Macbeth:

We can’t think that way about what we did. If we do, it’ll drive us crazy.

Go get some water and wash this bloody evidence from your hands.

--> Very very thorough + strong mentality → capability to withstand (get away from) the guilt

Macbeth:

I can’t go back. I’m afraid even to think about what I've done. I can’t stand to look at it again.

--> Relatively timid, scared + weak mentality → hard to withstand guilt

Their differences in mentality also affect their attitudes toward the crime they committed and the guilt.

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Additional: Power, guilt, and responsibility

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Additional: Power, guilt, and responsibility

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Servants who are falsely charged as the suspect in the murder:

Even though they did not commit the crime, they accept the fact that they are falsely charged.

→ They are not able to get away from the guilt, and one of the factors is the power.

⇒ Interdependence between POWER and GUILT. (alternative perspective)

=> Not necessarily about responsibility, because although Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are responsible for the death, they do not feel guilty, due to their power.

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In the concept of psychology, "nature" means innate biological factors (genetics) that influence an individual's personality, while "nurture" refers to the influences of environment or life experiences.

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Lady Macbeth: Naturally evil

Lady Macbeth is portrayed as ruthless and power-hungry. She went to extreme lengths to achieve her goals, which is urging Macbeth to commit regicide. She is born to be evil and this leaded her to embrace evil with no hesitation. Her biological trait can be defined as a term of "sociopath", which is a disorder that has antisocial personality. Sociopath usually does impulsive behaviors and tries to use intelligence or charm to manipulate others, which was the exact thing what Lady Macbeth did.

Macbeth: Nurturing evil

Macbeth's transformation into a ruthless and power-hungry individual is influenced by external factors. We can infer that Macbeth was initially born to be good and moral since he was illustrated as a loyal and brave person at the beginning of the story. Lady Macbeth's manipulation played a significant role in nurturing the evil within him. If Macbeth did not meet Lady Macbeth, he might maintained his moral and innocent personality.