Image Of Blood In Macbeth Essay

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Erythrocytes are red blood cells in the human body. In the play Macbeth, most characters are very familiar with erythrocytes. From the first death of the Thane of Cawdor, to the last death of Macbeth, blood is mentioned over one hundred times in the play; therefore, it serves as a major theme. The image of blood represents many different aspects the character’s behavior. In Macbeth, blood represents guilt and Macbeth’s mental breakdown. First, blood plays a major role by showing guilt. It mainly represents guilt for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. First, the image of blood consumes Macbeth with guilt. To illustrate, Macbeth begins to get second thoughts even before he kills King Duncan. In the moments leading up to his murder of Duncan, Macbeth …show more content…

First, in the beginning of the play the imagery of blood shows Macbeth as a noble person. For example, he kills the Thane of Cawdor on the battle field. The soldier telling the story about Macbeth’s heroism is bleeding so much that he has to stop his story before he faints. Second, Macbeth begins to lose his mind after he murders Duncan and Banquo. To show, he starts to hallucinate and sees a dagger and says, “Come, let me clutch thee” (2.1.43). He also claims to see the murdered ghost of Banquo. His hallucinations get worse due to the gruesome murders of his victims and the bloody imagery in his hallucinations. According to “Melancholy, Ecstasy, Phanstasma: The pathologies of Macbeth,” Roychoudhury states, “The morally damning hallucinations of Macbeth—the dripping dagger and spot of blood—represent the mental extrusions of the two guilty protagonists.” The last stage of Macbeth’s mental breakdown is evident in the final scenes of the play. As the woods lead by Malcolm and Macduff march to Dunsinane, Macbeth knows that his death is imminent. Instead of trying to logically win the battle, he goes into the battle field armor less and hungry for blood. To Macbeth, taking a life is much easier now at the end of the play than it was at the beginning of the

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