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Explore and discuss themes in Macbeth
The blood motif in macbeth
The blood motif in macbeth
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Use of Blood Imagery in Macbeth 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. MacBeth’s soliloquy in Act 2 scene 1 gives the reader a description of how Duncan will be murdered. "I see thee still, and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, which was not so before." MacBeth is talking about what he will see when he will have murdered Duncan. The image given is a sharp dagger covered in thick blood from the tip to the dudgeon. Dudgeon is the tilt of the dagger. You can just imagine how deep the wounds of Duncan are, how Duncan’s body will resemble after multiple stabs, his blood emerging from his body. Both MacBeth and Lady MacBeth react differently from seeing so much blood and killing innocent men, women, and children. Lady MacBeth, in the fifth act, has become overwhelmed with guilt that she has gone insane. "Out, dammed spot! Out, I say! One- two- why then tis’ time to do ’t. Hell is murky.- Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?" Lady MacBeth is in fear that someone would accuse MacBeth and herself for the murder of Duncan. She is tries to get rid of the evidence, the blood that has stained her hands, that could hold her guilty for the death of Duncan.
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 world revolves around money, so our government should not waste it putting an inmate to death when we can keep him/her alive for a quarter of the cost. The reason it costs so much to give an inmate capital punishment is because they must submit to a extensive and strenuous judicial process. By doing so, the courts are making sure that they are not executing an innocent man for a crime that he did not commit, but even with these protections, the risk of murdering an innocent man cannot be completely eliminated. Life without parole not only saves millions of dollars, it safeguards the community from an irreversible mistake in taking the wrong life. The money that is saved can then be put towards programs that can improve the community (High Cost).
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.
William Shakespeare's Repeated Reference to Blood to Establish the Theme of Power of Evil in Macbeth
Gray, James P. "Essay: Facing Facts On The Death Penalty." Loyola Of Los Angeles Law Review 44.3 (2011): S255-S264. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
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.
Koch, L.W., Wark, C., Galliher, J.F. (2012). The death of the American death penalty. Lebanon, NH: Northeastern University Press.
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...
There's a lot of motif in the story “Macbeth.” In Macbeth blood symbolizes bravery to guilt and shame. Lady Macbeth asked Macbeth why he brought the bloody daggers with him and tell him that “they must lie there; go carry them and smear them the sleepy grooms with blood.” Macbeth is being a baby and not wanting to finish what him and lady Macbeth had planned. That's when lady Macbeth steps up and takes the daggers from Macbeth and finished everything. The Macbeth's puts the murder on someone else,they make it seem like they didn't do it. That quote represents wrong doing and the guilt of
“.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.
9.) Kamis, Theodore. "Capital Punishment on Trial: Which Side is Corect?" [Online]. November 9, 1999. Available: http://users.hsonline.net/beamer/cappun2.html
When we, human beings, are about to commit wicked acts, we feel a variety of emotions. One of those emotions is guilt. You may also feel guilt due to moments you chose not to act. The presence of guilt is a driving factor that prevents us from acting irrationally. Citizens of the 16th century possessed these emotions as well, no matter their social standing. The citizens included Shakespeare as well, a poet and playwright of the 16th century, and writer of the play Macbeth. Shakespeare transfers the idea of negative emotions to Macbeth by using blood to symbolize guilt, among other emotions in the protagonists they do not show otherwise. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses blood to show the inner-conflict of the
The concern of the death penalty not only pertains to social problems, but also to biblical aspects as well. Walter Berns states many passages from the Bible that support the death penalty, but after careful research he determines that the passages can be interpreted in many different ways. To read this passage from Genesis someone might think that the death penalty is suppo...
Stewart, Gail B. "The Death Penalty Is Legally Unjust." The Death Penalty: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1998. 24-28. Print.
Many people are split on the idea of capital punishment because it involves death. I feel that capital punishment is morally and ethically acceptable because it rids society of our worst criminals. Many people argue that killing criminals who kill is just as bad as being the criminals. For one the criminals killed innocent people who had no idea what was coming, and had no way to prevent it. The criminal who commited the crime in almost all cases had to commit first degree murder, which includes some planning of the act. To plan an act of murder and taking someone’s life is beyond emotion, it is psychological and takes some rationalization. If no rationalization takes place, then it can happen again.