Macbeths Conscience in Shakespeares Macbeth - 530 Words

William Shakespeare’s seventeenth century tragedy, Macbeth, tells the story of Macbeth, whose ambition leads him to murder his close friends. In the play, he is told that he will become king, but to speed up the process he is convinced to kill the current king, Duncan. Although he is portrayed as a vile, evil character, the scene before he murders Duncan, his thoughts after the murder, and his encounters with his friend’s ghost show that Macbeth truly is a man of conscience. After his wife encourages Macbeth to kill King Duncan when he visits their home, Macbeth truly considers the idea. Shakespeare allows his character to mull over the act and consequences in a soliloquy which, â€Å"not only weighs the possible bad practical consequences of†¦show more content†¦Immediately after killing King Duncan, Macbeth’s conscience is disturbed. He tells Lady Macbeth, â€Å"To know what I have done – it would be better to lose consciousness altogetherâ₠¬ (2.2.87-88). He realizes the morality of his act and feels guilty because of it. Macbeth wishes to forget completely he even committed the act and his thoughts and comments even suggest that he regrets killing the king. He understands that morally, the murder was wrong. Since Macbeth knows the immorality of the act, he feels his guilt-ridden conscience continues to be bothered. Even after his fourth murder of his friend Banquo, Macbeth’s conscience is still active. Macbeth, although he feels guilt due to his other murders, he hires assassins to kill his friend so that no one can accuse him of any of the heinous crimes committed. The problem that arises after the murder occurs is that he sees the ghost of his friend at his dinner table. These ghosts arise because of the guilt he feels, and â€Å"that he acts with full knowledge of the evil only increases the pity and fear aroused by the dead† (Coriat 5). If the man had no sense of right and wrong, he would not imagin e the haunting. 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