The blood that consistently resembles the violence that takes place in Macbeth is an important symbol of the play. The blood acts as a reminder of the outcomes of misused power and it is also used as an image to show Macbeth and even Lady Macbeth to reflect upon their guilty deeds. However, this reminder of his guilt doesn’t prevent Macbeth from continuing his violent acts.Macbeth at the very begging of the play is described as a hero even in his darkest moments. Some very important characters in the play consist of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, the three witches, King Duncan and Banquo. Macbeth and Banquo near the begging of the play are visited by the three witches who tell Macbeth a prophesy of his own and Banquo a prophesy of his own.
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.
Guilt
Point:
Near the begging of the play Macbeth is described as a hero even in his darkest moments. Macbeth with the encouragement of Lady Macbeth kills King Duncan in order to become king. Macbeth feels somewhat guilty for his actions as his hands are covered in the kings blood.
Quote:
Macbeth, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” Pg.40 (Use whole quote)
Explanation:
Macbeth’s hands being covered in blood are reminders of his guilt and murder of the king. When Lady Macbeth mentions for him to “Go, get some water / And wash this filthy witness from your hand.” (Shakespeare, 39) Macbeth refers to Neptune (the Roman God of the sea). This shows that Macbeth believes not even the great Neptune would be able to wash the blood from his...
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...lfilled. Later Macduff finds out that his family was murdered and has a fight to the death with Macbeth.
Quote:
Macduff, “I have no words. / My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain / than terms can give thee out!” (107)
Explanation:
This is a representation of the horror and violence Shakespeare had obtained through using blood imagery. This shows that Macduff believes Macbeth doesn’t deserve his words but instead his sword. At the end of the battle Macduff come out the battle victorious with Macbeth’s head. Now that Macbeth is finally dead order can be restored to the lands and the rightful king can be claimed.
Point:
Macbeth says a very important quote after he speaks with Banquo’s murders and sees Banquo’s ghost.
Quote:
Macbeth, “It will have blood, they say. / Blood will have blood. […]” (66)
Explanation:
Point:
Quote:
Explanation:
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.
No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.’ Here Shakespeare uses the language technique of allusion in conjunction with symbolism to express how much Macbeth is overwhelmed with guilt from murdering King Duncan. The first question Macbeth asks to himself is him wondering if the guilt inside him will ever leave, and the second part is him realising that the murder was so bad - that guilt will never be rid from his conscious. We see this again later in the play after Macbeth is responsible for more murders: “… I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more. Returning were as tedious as go o’er” The blood spoken about is used in both a literal and symbolic sense.
Thirdly, feelings of paranoia and guilt cause Macbeth characters to make damaging choices. When Macbeth asks the witches to reveal the truth of their prophecies to him, they summon horrible apparitions, each of which offers a prediction to allay Macbeth’s fears. First, a floating head warns him to beware Macduff. Macbeth says that he has already guessed as much. Later when Lennox enters and tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth in reply says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; / Seize upon Fife; give to th'edge o'th'sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line.” (4.1.149-152). As Macbeth descends to madness he becomes obsessed with eliminating any threats to his power. Macbeth orders the murderers to kill Macduff's family and eliminate any threat to him. Ironically, this is the moment that Macbeth seals his own fate, by murdering Macduff's family he ensures Macduff's retaliation against him, which ultimately leads
In brief, the three scenes discussed above are illustrations of the compunction the two Macbeths are equally afflicted with after they preside over the murders of their king, a close friend, and an entire innocent family. Neither one was expecting such a strong impact on their minds, but neither could hide from their guilty consciences after the fact. Inevitably, Lady Macbeth is overcome with despair and commits suicide, not surprising given her poor, ravaged mind. Macbeth, too, seems to succumb to his inexorable destiny by Macduff’s sword, solidifying the pervasive theme that unchecked ambition must lead to an unpleasant end.
Shakespeare’s use of blood imagery builds the initial characterization of Macbeth in Act I as having an ability to display and feel guilt and his hesitance to commit treason with this quote, “We still have judgment here, that we but teach bloody instructions, which, being taught, return to plague the inventor” (Shakespeare 39). This quote is important to Macbeth’s characterization because he is able to think about Duncan’s murder rationally at this point. He attempts to show Lady Macbeth the consequences of their actions, to no avail. Even though they still commit the murder, this quote demonstrates that at this time in the play, Macbeth is still able to feel guilt over it. Macbeth’s characterization can also be shown in ...
One of the themes in the tragedy of Macbeth is that of blood. Macbeth is known for his skills as a warrior and his mercilessness that is shown in his killing of MacDonwald. This warrior mentality quickly spreads into his life, and he begins to make killing a habit. When he is told in a prophecy that he shall be king, Macbeth takes it upon himself to murder Duncan, king of Scotland. After this murder he begins to see visions of blood on his hands, blood nothing could remove. As Macbeth becomes more ambitious, he also begins to kill more people to get the power that he wants. The theme of blood is shown throughout the play, and is a problem that Macbeth finds harder and harder to rid himself of after each killing.
Will all great Neptune?s ocean wash this blood/clean from my hand? Macbeth cries after he has killed Duncan, even as his wife scolds him and says that a little water will do the job (II.ii.58?59). Later, though, she comes to share his horrified sense of being stained:?Out, damned spot, out, I say. . . who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? she asks as she wanders through the halls of their castle near the close of the play (V.i.30?34).
Shakespeare employs the powerful symbol of blood to augment the tragic nature of Macbeth, while dually adding dramatic effect to the play. Blood’s recurring symbolism throughout the play constantly reminds the audience of the Macbeth’s irreconcilable guilt. Blood’s symbolism in the murder of Duncan transforms an act of treachery into a ghastly betrayal. 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 in 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.
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.
He also orders all his soldiers to attack the wood (macduff’s soldiers, V, vii, 46-53) and he fights Macduff but Macduff says he was born by a c-section and not by a woman (V, vii, 41-45). Macbeth fights to the death but is beheaded by Macduff as the witches said he would. (V, vii, 82-83).
After the first murder scene, when Macbeth stabs King Duncan in his sleep, he encounters a great deal of guilt towards the murder. This is shown by a quote from Macbeth, "With all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas in carnadine, making the green one red", at this point in the play, blood is resembled mostly by guilt. What Macbeth is really saying is that not even the entire ocean could wash his hands clean of blood from this dirty deed he had committed. He feels that what he had done was so wrong and shameful there is not a way in the world to hide it, the ocean is an excellent way to portray this. After the discovery of Duncan’s murder in the third scene, Macbeth exaggerates the king’s wounds," His silver skin lac’d with his golden blood, and gash’d stabs look’d like a breach in nature..." Macbeth most likely said this to drive away any thought of him being the murderer. The word "golden" resembles the King’s blood, referring to his social status not only as a King, but as a well liked member of society. The word “blood,” produces a dreadful description of the king’s murder which aids the audience in picturing this horrific murder scene.
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...
...y Macduff after hearing that that his family has been slain. This reference shows how low Macbeth have sunk and how destroyed his morale are as to even kill a “defenseless woman and child”.1
“.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.