Was Lady Macbeth Correct? “What’s Done is Done”

Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a play about a man named Macbeth, who receives a prophecy that he would become king. Learning of this prophecy Macbeth and his wife become enthralled, to the point that they even commit murder and treason: killing the king, to gain early kingship. After his numerous crimes to become king, he becomes paranoid, and even sees ghosts of the people he and his wife had murdered. Macbeth’s wife has a different attitude on the situation and stated simply: “What’s done is done.” Near the end of the play, the wrong deeds that were done catch up to Macbeth. His wife commits suicide, and he is killed in battle. On the note of Lady Macbeth’s statement, “what’s done is done,” was it correct to the predicament of the situation?

Macbeth gains power for a short period after killing the king, but he loses his humanity, sanity, and experiences much guilt, this gets to the point that he begins to see the ghosts of his murdered victims. To maintain his position as king, he and his wife have to kill more people. Macbeth could not sleep, and his emotional state became worse. His wife who puts on a stronger facade was not doing much better herself and was struggling with the emotional consequences of their crimes. Their situation becomes worse; their emotional state becomes bleak. Lady Macbeth falls first, and commits suicide, Macbeth soon follows, though he is killed in battle.

A statement that Lady Macbeth said to her husband, in an attempt to help improve his emotional state after the crimes, was the statement of: “What’s done is done,” This statement morbidly enough, clearly describes the predicament that Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth were in. You cannot bring someone back after murdering them. Murder is a deed that cannot be undone, it is permanent, and the consequences are permanent. Killing the king could not be undone, and now they had to live with the consequences of their decision. Though this statement was most likely intended to help make Macbeth feel better about himself, it accurately described the predicament they were in.

William Shakespeare truly had a gift of writing tragedies. The way that he built up the story of Macbeth, and his faltering emotional state after his crimes is described, shows pure literary genius. Shakespeare, thanks to his knowledge of human nature, created an accurate portrayal of how Macbeth and his wife justified their terrible actions. “What’s done is done,” is a statement that shows how Lady Macbeth attempted to justify their actions, though this statement more or less described the bleak predicament they were in. Thus, what’s done is truly done, in this play.