William Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth. One, of many the themes in this play was evil. This essay will focus on guilt consuming people. Shakespeare uses many poetic techniques to communicate the theme of guilt consumes people. Shakespeare uses several methods to emphasize this theme including imagery, metaphors and rhymes.
One method Shakespeare uses is imagery to emphasize the theme of guilt consumes people. Right after Macbeth killed Duncan (the king of Scotland) he said, "Methought I heard a voice cry "sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more!"" (26) Cleary Macbeth is distraught. His guilt is interfering with his sense of hearing. The fact that he killed someone is causing him to hallucinate. Another quote that uses imagery is used in the banquet scene. Macbeth sees Banquos ghost in his chair. He says, "Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake thy glory locks at me." (49) Macbeth quivering with fear can be seen through this quote. Even though the ghost isn't real, Macbeth is being tortured by the thought of Banquo in his mind. A final example of imagery can be seen through this next quote. All of the murders have really taken a toll on Lady Macbeth. In Act 5 she is sleep walking and revealing secrets about the murders. In this quote she says, "Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?" (78) She is talking about Duncan's murder. The quote makes the reader relive Duncan's murder. Shakespeare does this to make the reader understand how bad and bloody the murder was by talking about how much blood there was.
The theme of guilt consumes people can be also be seen in this play through the use of metaphors. After Macbeth killed the king he said this quote: "Will all great Neptune's ocean this blood clean from my hand." (27) Macbeth means he wishes that he had never killed the king. Another metaphor used in this play, was used after Lady Macbeth died. Macbeth seemed to not care about his wife's suicide at all.
