Dramatic Use of Images of Blood in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
'Macbeth' is the story of a nobleman, who, while trying to fulfil a
prophecy told to him by three witches, murders his king to cause his
ascension to the throne of Scotland. After the King's death, Macbeth
reigns as a cruel and ruthless tyrant who is forced to kill more
people to keep control of the throne. Finally, Scottish rebels
combined with English forces attack Macbeth's castle. A Scottish thane
named Macduff, who has sacrificed everything and whose family was
killed by this tyrant, then kills Macbeth in the closing scene.
Considering the fact that many people are killed in 'Macbeth', the
number of murders committed on-stage is minimal.
We have known blood to represent life, death, and often injury. Blood
is an essential part of life, and without blood, we could not live.
Shakespeare uses this fact to create imagery to represent treason,
murder, guilt, and death. These ideas are constant throughout the
play.
King Duncan is the first to mention blood, and he does so in the
second scene of the play. At this time, Scotland has defeated Norway;
Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, have led the Scottish forces to
victory. The blood in this scene is depicted as showing honour and
heroism. Duncan sees an injured Sergeant and says: "What bloody man is
that?". This is symbolic of the brave fighter who has been injured in
a valiant battle for his country. In the next passage, in which the
Sergeant says: "Which smok'd with bloody execution", he is referring
to Macbeth's braveness in which he covered his sword in the hot blood
of the enemy.
Macbeth's brutality ...
... middle of paper ...
...are conveys the theme of death, murder and
treason through the imagery of blood effectively. Blood, being an
important part of essential life, is a perfect metaphor for death and
murder. It is an successful symbol and it is used well throughout the
play. He uses this blood imagery to enhance the audience's
understanding of Macbeth's character and the audience has now
witnessed the complete transformation of Macbeth. He starts as a
noble, brave and just person. He gradually becomes evil, ambitious and
treacherous during and after Duncan's murder, after his initial
feelings of remorse for his crime. He finally realises that he will be
punished for his sins.
Due to these many changes, it has been proved that the symbol of blood
has different meanings, which can be attributed to it throughout the
course of this play.
Shakespeare used the image of blood to portray the central idea of Macbeth, King Duncan’s murder. The crime is foreshadowed in the second scene of the first act. The king shouts, “ What bloody man is that?” (I,ii,1) He is referring to a soldier coming in from battle. The soldier then explains to King Duncan of Macbeth’s heroics in battle. One assumes that Macbeth is bloody just like the soldier. The soldier describes Macbeth in action “Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution.” (I,ii,17-18) This line connects Macbeth with killing, and hints at the future.
Shakespeare is well known for including symbolism in his plays to increase interest to those who watch or read the plays. Blood imagery is essential to Macbeth; it portrays guilt for various reasons, regret and remorse and the evil thoughts of characters, can all be observed through blood imagery. Blood imagery signifies all the emotions and thoughts of the characters in Macbeth, proving that we must think before we act.
The imagery of blood plays a hefty role in the tragic play Macbeth, as it
out, I say!" When Lady Macbeth thought of Macbeth being king she thought that no one could oppose his power and killing Duncan wouldn’t cause any harm to her. "What need we fear who knows it, what none can call our power to account? —Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?" She although adds that Duncan has a lot of blood and this reminds her of her guilt. This guilt plagues her and she is devastated in her dream when she realizes that, "Here’s the smell of blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." Lady Macbeth’s perspective changed at this point on blood and she will later commit suicide.Imagery is a useful tool used by many authors. Shakespeare used "blood" as an image throughout his play to show the emotions and actions of characters as well as the mood for that part of the play. This imagery is useful because it describes the characters
The symbolic appearance of blood throughout the intermediate parts of the play maintains the depth of the Macbeth’s unforgiveable guilt. The use of blood as a symbol at the conclusion of the play asserts the perpetuity of the Macbeth’s guilt. Shakespeare’s inclusion of blood as a major symbol in Macbeth creates a compelling tragedy in which the audience is able to comprehend the magnitude of the Macbeth’s irreconcilable guilt.
Shakespeare uses the symbol of blood in MacBeth to represent treason, guilt, murder and death. These ideas are constant throughout the book. There are many examples of blood representing these three ideas in the book.
William Shakespeare uses many techniques to liven the intensity, and the excitement in his plays. In the play of MacBeth, Shakespeare uses blood imagery to add a sense of fear, guilt, shame, insanity, and anger to the atmosphere. The use of blood imagery allows the audience to vision in their minds the crime scene where Duncan was murdered, as well as the scene where Lady MacBeth tries to cope with the consequences of her actions. The talk and sight of blood has a great impact on the strength and depth of the use of blood imagery.
Throughout Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’, the recurring imagery of blood is used as a symbol to demonstrate the constant feelings of guilt felt by the characters, ultimately leading to their endless feelings of fear and horror.
Blood is also used to display the guilt in Lady Macbeth near the end of the play. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth is the one who tries to keep Macbeth sane and to keep from breaking.
The image of blood plays an important role throughout Macbeth. Blood represents the murders that Macbeth had committed, the guilt that went along with the murders and the pain that it brought on him during his downfall. The soldier describes the violence and bloodshed, in the war between Scotland and Norway, "Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds." (I. ii. 43) foreshadows the violent nature of the play filled with murder, guilt and pain. Blood in the murder of King Duncan also plays a major role because it represents Macbeth's guilt as well as his shame for slaying King Duncan. Macbeth observes his blood stained hands and remarks "As they had seen me with these hangman's hands." (II. ii. 28) This reveals his guilt and shame because he is comparing his hands to those of an executioner's. After the murder, Macbeth refuses to return back to the bed chamber of Kind Duncan to smear the blood on the sleeping guards, because he is afraid that the blood will incriminate him further. Lady Macbeth smearing the blood onto the guards represents them trying to rub their guilt off onto the guard. "I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt" (II. ii. 73) but this proves to be ineffective because Macbeth ends up murdering t...
“.blood will have blood.” , Macbeth is a well known book written by Shakespeare. In it, a once loyal soldier to the king of Scotland starts to seek a way for him to get the crown for himself. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the imagery of blood to represent the guilt of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, demonstrating the feeling of guilt has consequences of severe punishments. The imagery of blood shows Lady Macbeth wants to get rid of her guilt.
It is only when Ross brings news that Macduff’s family has been murdered (most likely by Macbeth), however, that Malcolm encourages Macduff to slay Macbeth, and Macduff agrees. Macbeth wades in the blood of his victims while Malcolm and Macduff use blood imagery to describe the violence and destruction of Scotland (first evoked by the three witches) under Macbeth’s rule. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The.
The significance of blood in Macbeth changes frequently from honour to betrayal, to guilt and then back to honour again when Macduff kills Macbeth. Also, the blood was used to represent good and evil. When good people were mentioned like Malcolm or Duncan, it was used it was used for good, to show bravery and heroic deeds. When bad people were mentioned like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, it was used for evil things like murder, and betrayal. It gave a good understanding of the character’s personalities, and contributed to the richness and excitement of the play.
Blood was very evident throughout Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Violence caused blood to drip from the fingers of characters and stain them for the rest of their life. Blood meant various things in the play but it was certainly seen, literally and through hallucinations. Blood in Macbeth is more important when it is imagined by characters but is not actually there because it causes main characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to feel more guilty, becomes a reminder of death, and represents violence and murder. The biggest role of blood in the play was becoming a stigma of guilt for characters including Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
Blood is seen as a symbol of courage and valor for Macbeth, who fights valiantly on the bloody battlefield.... ... middle of paper ... ... The symbol of blood in "Macbeth" comes full circle as it conveys honor, betrayal, guilt and honor again.