I cannot but remember such things were
That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on,
And would not take their part? Sinful Macduff,
They were all struck for thee! naught that I am,
Not for their own demerits, but for mine,
Fell slaughter on their souls. Heaven rest them now!
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 3. Macduff agonizes over the slaughter of his wife and children by Macbeth’s thugs. He questions how God could allow such a thing. Heaven is personified when he accuses it of looking on and doing nothing about the crime. But Macduff also blames himself, his guilt evident in calling himself “sinful Macduff.” He says that his wife and children were innocent and the only reason they were targeted was because they were his family.