It occurred to me somewhat recently that Evanescence's song "Oceans" was very likely written in the context of Shakespeare's Macbeth tragedy, specifically from the perspective of Lady Macbeth. I have highlighted some lyrics to help explain why I have arrived at this conclusion.
"Can't find the road to lead us out of this, a million miles from where we burned the bridge." - In the tragedy, Lady Macbeth is one of the factors that pushes Macbeth to commit murder by killing the king; she and Macbeth are both responsible in their own ways. Lady Macbeth ends up feeling vehemently regretful and guilty because of her involvement.
"Cross the oceans in my mind. Find the strength to say goodbye. In the end, you can never wash the blood from your hands." - When Macbeth begins to experience guilt, he uses a metaphor of ocean water never being enough to wash his hands of what he had done. In Act 2, Scene 2, he says, "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red." In other words, all of the oceans of the world could never cleanse his hands of all of the blood that stains them; in fact, if he tried to do so, he would turn all of the oceans red with the blood. Initially, he is the one feeling guilty while Lady Macbeth is the one feeling ambitious, pushing Macbeth toward tyranny, but when he does, in fact, become evil and tyrannous, she begins feeling guilty, and their roles are reversed. At one point during the tragedy, she echoes Macbeth's lament about her hands, which can never be washed of blood, not even by the oceans. The "strength to say goodbye" line could be in reference to her eventual suicide.
"Heaven, help me find a way to dream within this nightmare." - Lady Macbeth's primary symptom of her guilt is her sleepwalking. While she sleepwalks, she seems to be re-experiencing her complicity in the murder.
