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Shakespeare literature essays
The importance of blood in Macbeth
How does blood function in macbeth
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In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, literary devices are used to invoke deeper thought. From the first act of the play, Macbeth uses chiasmus to introduce the tumultuous world of Macbeth. In a world of disorder, Shakespeare uses metaphors to provide insight on what the characters are thinking and feeling. The most powerful metaphor is blood, which recurs in most scenes of the play. In Macbeth, blood as a metaphor and bloody imagery to show guilt, define masculinity, and represent violence. Shakespeare directly entwines blood with guilt. In Macbeth, guilty people are continuously trying to deny their wrongdoings. However, by doing so, their mental states begin to degrade. After Lady Macbeth’s involvement in the murder of the king's guards, …show more content…
Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth constantly mocks Macbeth’s manliness, or ability to commit murder and perform violent acts. Lady Macbeth berates Macbeth when he is afraid of the blood on his hands, referring to him as a coward and not being a true man. Lady Macbeth becomes so entangled with the struggle of what a true man really is, she wishes she could see for herself, “That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. / Stop up the access and passage to remorse” (1.5 31-34). By making her blood thick, she could commit the foul deeds that she forces her husband to do for her. It was thought in Elizabethan times that poison makes the blood thick. By the usage of the word blood Lady Macbeth suggest that men are corrupted by violence and the need for power. And that all real men should feel the need for more, or to be the …show more content…
In the beginning of the play, Duncan sees one of his captains coming back from the battlefield, “What a bloody man is that? He can report” (1.2.1). The captain that Duncan sees is drenched in blood. Once arriving the captain speaks of the brutality of Macbeth in battle. His descriptions are vivid, describing bloody swords, decapitations, and ferocious sword fighting. The time placement of the play is important because it helps understand what blood means. The play takes place in the mid-eleventh century, so it is important to remember that in these times most confrontations with enemies happened at close range, often involving a knife or a sword. These close range altercations always lead to large scale hemorrhaging and blood leaping from the man's
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.
The imagery of blood plays a hefty role in the tragic play Macbeth, as it
Blood is a recurring theme in this play; the theme of blood shows the setting of the play at that time and the different moods and emotions acquired by the characters. This idea of blood in the characters mind reverse from the beginning of the play to the end. Blood traverses the play Macbeth.King Duncan is the first to bring up blood in the play. Scotland at this time is fighting Norway; Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, lead the Scottish forces to victory. The blood brought up by Duncan shows the honor and the heroic deeds done by Macbeth. "What bloody man is that?" Duncan asked to which Malcolm tells him it is the sergeant who had saved him and fought honorably.
middle of paper ... ... Blood is everywhere in Macbeth, beginning with the opening battle between the Scots and the Norwegian invaders, which is described in harrowing terms by the wounded captain in Act I, scene ii. Once Macbeth and Lady Macbeth embark upon their murderous journey, blood comes to symbolize their guilt, and they begin to feel that their crimes have stained them in a way that cannot be washed clean.
While talking to himself about possibly murdering King Duncan, Macbeth notes that if “bloody instructions” are taught, they will only return to harm those who taught them” (I.vii.9). Here, blood is used in a negative tone, as it foreshadows the harm that would to come to Macbeth if he were to kill King Duncan. Blood continues to have a negative connotation as the play continues. When Macbeth sees the dagger before him, he turns away and then turns back towards the dagger to test its legitimacy. When the dagger is still there, he notes that there are “gouts of blood” on the handle and on the blade “which was not so before” (II.i.47-48). This sudden appearance of blood mirrors the change in Macbeth’s character and the connotation of blood throughout the play. Both begin with a sense of positivity and heroism, but as the play progresses they turn into more negative and murderous beings. Because the blood on the dagger has a dark and deadly quality to it, Macbeth turns to violence in order to move up the hierarchical ranking, despite having knowledge of the repercussions of committing regicide. The shift in the connotation of blood becomes the most clear after Macbeth kills King Duncan. Once he committed the act, Macbeth questions if he will ever be able to truly wash King Duncan’s blood “clean from my hand” (II.ii.64). The blood is used as a foil for the guilt Macbeth feels after murdering King Duncan; even though he may be able to wash the physical blood away, his hands are forever dirty with the murder of King
The symbolism of blood prior to, and immediately following Duncan’s murder amplifies the magnitude of Macbeth’s treachery. Following the prophecy of the witches, Macbeth contemplates the possible effects of murdering Duncan in order to gain the crown. Macbeth believes the killing of Duncan will provide "bloody instruction" to Scotland and will in turn "plague th' inventor" (1.7.9-10). This quotation characterizes the murder of Duncan as a bloody deed, therefore amplifying the severity of the crime. Prior to the murder of Duncan, Macbeth hallucinated bloody splotches on his dagger.
Shakespeare opens Scene Two of Act One with the introduction of warriors, fresh from battle; the warriors are battleworn - bloody - to express they have come from the battlefield. Appealing to the pathos of warrior culture, the bloody injured captain boasts about Macbeth and Banquo’s victory against Macdonwald. The captain vividly describes the execution of Macdonwald, imagery of blood leaves a permanent impression of Macbeth’s success. The image of bloody, proud warriors on stage creates a feeling of achievement, represented by the blood on their bodies - be it theirs or an enemy’s. The warriors’ honourable bloodshed is established in the play to create a base of good evidence for warrior-like deeds. Such honour will be later contrasted with Macbeth’s treachery when he assassinates Duncan. With subtle costume decisions and
In many contexts, blood symbolizes one’s heroism and power. At the battlegrounds, Duncan notices the approaching sergeant and asks, “What bloody man is that?”(I.ii.1). The use of blood signifies the captain’s bravery through his wounded state. He reports back their victory and symbolizes the violence that took place. This also alludes to Macbeth’s heroic qualities in which he too had fought on the same grounds. Lady Macbeth cries out for courage and strength by saying, “And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood” (I.v.49-50). The use of blood in this context also relates to one’s power using the idea of it being a life source and a vital part to the soul. By thickening her b...
Blood is mentioned throughout the play and mainly in reference to murder or treason. The first reference to blood is in MacBeth's soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 33-61, when Macbeth sees the bloody dagger floating in the air before him. Also in this soliloquy on line 46 he sees "on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood", this means that there is blood on the handle and spots of blood on the handle. This is implying that the dagger was viciously and maliciously used on someone. Shakespeare most likely put this in as premonition of murder and death to come later in the story.
The first reference of blood occurs when Duncan sees the injured sergeant and says, "What bloody man is that?" (1.2.1) The King is referring to the brave messenger who has just returned from a war. Soon after, the bloody captain praises Macbeth’s deeds in battle, saying that he held his sword "Which smoked with bloody execution" (1.2.20), meaning that Macbeth’s bravery was shown by his sword covered in the hot blood of the enemy.
Use of Blood Imagery in Macbeth William Shakespeare uses many techniques to liven up the intensity, and the excitement, of 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. MacBeth’s soliloquy in Act 2 scene 1 gives the reader a description of how Duncan will be murdered.
In the beginning of this play blood resembles honor, bravery, and maybe even victory. Macbeth's blood saturated sword after the war portrays him as a brave hero because of the enemy he killed. He is known as "Brave Macbeth" to everyone including Duncan, the King. His bravery is rewarded by the title of Thane of Cawdor, with the help of the current one being executed for treason. I feel that the word blood at the beginning of this play earns Macbeth’s respect from not only the characters, but also the audience.
The imagery of blood shows Lady Macbeth wants to get rid of her guilt. Lady Macbeth states, “And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood” (1.5. 49-50). Lady Macbeth is saying that she wants be filled with cruelty from top to bottom and to thicken her blood because she knows that from what she is about to do, she will get guilt.
The captain is bleeding because he fought bravely in battle, especially against Malcolm’s (the son of King Duncan of Scotland) “captivity” (I ii 6). His wounds signify his loyalty to Scotland. In his severely wounded state, however, the bloody captain decides to speak about Macbeth’s bravery against the Norwegian invaders and especially the rebel leader Macdonwald to the King. Macbeth has been killing so many people that his sword “smoke[s]” (I ii 21), or steams, with blood.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the mention of blood acts as a principal form of foreshadowing. Some sort of bloody metaphor or hyperbole introduces both underlying themes and sudden events throughout the play. Chiefly, blood signals extreme emotions such as guilt, courage or just plain unhinged behaviors. In the way that blood maintains an integral position in the human body, it also holds a paramount position in Macbeth. Without blood, readers hang freely at critical points but with it, the whole play gels together. As Friedrich Nietzsche said, “Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood.” Without blood, the passion and intensity of a play like Macbeth seems an unlikely creation.