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Macbeth was persuaded into the murders against his will in Act 1 Scene 7, and never was really comfortable with them. Immediately after killing Duncan he says "Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst." which shows he regrets it already. At the same time he hears a voice which says "Sleep no more".

When contemplating the murder of Banquo he reflects on the witches' prophecy that Banquo's heirs will become king and says, "for Banquo's issue have I fil'd my mind, for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered, put rancours in the vessel of my peace . . ." His mind is "filed" and his peace is disturbed. He finds the price he is paying for his guilt too high just for him to become king--he wants more reward for his pain. Later he says to Lady Macbeth that he would rather be dead than suffer "these terrible dreams that shake us nightly."

After the ghost of Banquo appears, Lady M says "You lack the season of all natures, sleep." She's noticed he's not sleeping too well too. Half of Macbeth wishes he had never embarked on this career of murder, and the other half tells him he is already committed and cannot go back now. "I am in blood stepped so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er."

Macbeth becomes a murder addict: he cannot stop and he wishes he had never started. Eventually his peace of mind, his ability to sleep and everything else worth living for is stripped away. What is especially sad is that Macbeth sees it happening and comments on it, from "I have fallen into the sere, the yellow leaf . . ." to the recognition of the complete meaninglessness of his life in the chilling "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. 'Tis a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Macbeth is in Hell and he knows it.

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Q: Why did Macbeth regret his decision to kill Duncan and Banquo?
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What mental anguish did Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have?

A major character trait of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is that (to a certain extent) they regret the murders of Duncan, Banquo, etc. It eventually drives them into madness


Does Macbeth feel guilty after killing duncan?

Macbeth has a conscience, even greater than Lady Macbeth's lust for power. He is concerned what will happen to him in his life to come. His greatest problem here is that whilst the King in honouring his stay with him, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are plotting to kill the King. He knows that murdering the King in his own home is wrong and he is conscious of the moral right and wrong of the act. After killing King Duncan, he tells Lady Macbeth 'to know what I have done, it would be better to lose consciousness altogether.' Macbeth's guilt ridden conscious continues to bother him.


Why did the information from the witches' apparitions spur Macbeth to commit more murders?

The Witches had mainly 2 encounters with Macbeth. The 3 witches first encounter with Macbeth was when Macbeth and Banquo were returning from a victorious battle. The 3 witches gave Macbeth three prophecies "All hail Macbeth;Thane of Glamis" "All hail Macbeth;Thane of Cawdor" "All hail Macbeth;To be King hereafter" The 3 witches planted the seed of evil in Macbeth with these 3 prophecies, and the seed gradually germinated through the play. Macbeth was the Thane of Glamis by 'Sinel's Death' and when he was given the news that he was the Thane of Cawdor as the previous committed treason and was stripped from his tittle 'What he hath lost noble Macbeth has won' he was deeply influenced by the witches prophecies. He was always thinking of those words the witches said "Have we eaten the insane roots?" It made Macbeth think that he will eventually be king, it caused the thought of evil to be implanted in Macbeth; to kill Duncan in order to gain kingship 'My thought whose murder yet is but fantastical. And in Act 1 scene 4, Macbeth now has totally fallen into the words of the witches "Stars hide your fire let not light see my black and deep desires' he was made believe of the witches' words and has decided to do the deed (killing duncan). However right before the Murder, Macbeth tried to take things into his own hands and had his own compelling thoughts of why not to kill Duncan. Macbeth was his Kinsmen and subject, he received golden opinions and was only honored of late. Other than those reasons "my intent, except for vaulting ambition' it was his ambitious heart together with the push of Lady Macbeth 'screw you courage to the sticking place and we shall not fail' and the words of the witches that influenced him to do the deed, the witches implanted the thoughts of murder and made Macbeth decide to commit murder. After Macbeth committed murder and was king he was still not happy, his 'mind full of scorpions' This was because Banquo's children prophecised to be King and his presence threatened his Kingship. All those factors pushed Macbeth to decide to kill Banquo and his child. From here we can again see that Macbeth trusted the words of the 3 witches he was deeply influenced and the words of the Withches manipulated Macbeth in his decisions. And that when Fleance escaped the murder Macbeth was tormented, this led Macbeth to have a 2nd encounter with the 3 witches. During the second encounter with the 3 witches, they showed Macbeth 3 apparitions. The first was an armored head which could possibly be the head of Macduff depicting the warning, or it could be the sign to the end of the story when Macbeth was beheaded and his head flashed around the country of Scotland. The armored head said 'Macbeth Macbeth!Macbeth! Beware of the thane of Macduff! Beware the thane of fife!" Macbeth responded through thanking it. The second apparition was a bloody child telling Macbeth to "be bloody, bold, resolute. Laugh to the scorn of man as no man born of woman shall harm Macbeth. Macbeth response was "what i need fear thee? make assurance double sure thou shalt not live" And the third apparition was a child with a crown on his head and a tree in his hand saying 'Macbeth shall never be vanquished till Birnam wood to high dunsanine hill. And Macbeth's reactionwas "impossible for a forest to unfix itself." From here Macbeth has totally place his trust into the Witches, he believed the withces and had a singled minded thinking because of the trust and influenced he had towards the witches, he thought that he was invincible and cannot be harmed however in the later part of the story he discovered he was wrong. The witches also showed him a 4th apparition it was a line of 8 phantom king and the ghost of Macbeth at the end. He was angry and cursed the 3 witches. Again the words of the witches cause him to order the murder of Macduff's family. Although it was just an apparition Macbeth believed in it as he was influence through the first encounter. He was still being manipulated in his actions. And during the battle between Macbeth and Macduff, Macbeth again said ' i bear a charm life, no man born of woman shall harm me' this again showed his absolute trust towards the witches. However he later discovered he was wrong believing in the witches. Macduff was 'untimely ripped from his mother's womb', and thus resulting in Macbeth's defeat. In conclusion, the Witches were the cause of everything. They implanted seeds of evil in Macbeth and made him to believe in them. Macbeth's decisions then was made through the influence of the witches and most of it had a negatice impact.


What takes place at fife of Macbeth?

In 'Macbeth,' prior to the war, Macbeth is given prophecies which he considers make him pretty much invincible. However, the prophecies have hidden meaning. For example, he is told that he will have trouble only if Birnam Woods come to him. Macbeth feels its impossible for the woods to come after him. However, the oncoming soldiers take branches from the wood to use as camouflage. He is also told that no man born of woman can kill him. Again, he thinks all men are born of women, so he's invincible. However, right before Macduff cuts off Macbeth's head, he tells him he was basically ripped from his mother's body by Caesarian section.


What do these words tell us about Macbeth's state of mind on the eve of battle?

Please write your question in a complete sentence. What do you want to know ABOUT Macbeth's final battle? Macbeth didnt use magic as they thought it was wrong so they had a battle without magic :) Macbeth thought magic is rubbish,, so they had a battle with fists :):)

Related questions

What mental anguish did Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have?

A major character trait of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is that (to a certain extent) they regret the murders of Duncan, Banquo, etc. It eventually drives them into madness


What decision does duncan regret in Macbeth?

He kills the chairman, and he admits it saying he did it out of rage, scaring Duncan's sons more.


Lady Macbeth sleepwalking?

Yes, and she sleeptalks too.


What made Macbeth regret his decision to kill duncan and banquo?

Macbeth regretted his decision to kill Duncan and Banquo because their murders haunted him, leading to guilt and paranoia. He struggled with his conscience and suffered from hallucinations, ultimately realizing that his ruthless ambition had led to his downfall.


What does the spot represent in Macbeth?

The spot represents the guilt and psychological burden of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. It symbolizes their conscience and the irreversible consequences of their actions, particularly the murder of King Duncan. The spot cannot be washed away, showing that their guilt will haunt them forever.


How can you calculate a minimax regret to make a decision?

To calculate minimax regret, you first need to construct a regret table by determining the regret for each decision in each possible state of nature. Regret is calculated by taking the difference between the payoff of the best decision for a given state of nature and the payoff of the decision being evaluated. Once you have the regret table filled out, find the maximum regret for each decision and then choose the decision with the minimum of these maximum regrets as your optimal decision.


How does Macbeth feel about killing Macduff's and Banquo's family?

Macbeth feels regret and guilt over killing Macduff's and Banquo's families, as it deepens his sense of guilt and loneliness. He recognizes that these actions were unnecessary and immoral, causing him to spiral further into paranoia and despair.


How do you start a regret letter?

Dear______, I regret my decision to_______________


What could the vanishing blood spot indicate about lady Macbeth?

The vanishing blood spot on Lady Macbeth's hand could symbolize her guilt and inability to wash away her sins. This could suggest that she is haunted by her involvement in King Duncan's murder and is struggling with the weight of her actions. Additionally, it might foreshadow her descent into madness and eventual regret for her role in the crime.


Does Macbeth feel guilty after killing duncan?

Macbeth has a conscience, even greater than Lady Macbeth's lust for power. He is concerned what will happen to him in his life to come. His greatest problem here is that whilst the King in honouring his stay with him, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are plotting to kill the King. He knows that murdering the King in his own home is wrong and he is conscious of the moral right and wrong of the act. After killing King Duncan, he tells Lady Macbeth 'to know what I have done, it would be better to lose consciousness altogether.' Macbeth's guilt ridden conscious continues to bother him.


How does Macbeth describe his crown?

In Shakespeare's play "Macbeth," the character Macbeth describes his crown as a "fruitless crown" that he has gained by committing murder and betraying those around him. He sees it as a symbol of his empty victory, tainted by guilt and regret.


What is the verb for regret?

Regret is already a verb because it is an action.Other verbs are regrets, regretting and regretted.Some example sentences are:"I regret the decision"."He regrets accepting the offer"."I am regretting what I said"."He soon regretted forgetting his parachute".