Throughout Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses image patterns in order to transmit to the reader his own personal viewpoint that defines his meaning. By analyzing these image patterns, the reader develops a sense of the author’s purpose in writing and deciphers the interwoven meaning threaded throughout the book through these recurring images. One of the most prominent image patterns is that of blood, which William Shakespeare uses to highlight the ethical conundrums that Macbeth faces throughout his ambitious rise to power as a way to highlight the moral corruption of unbounded ambition. When Macbeth views the apparition of a dagger in Act II, he views blood on it in order to show the unnatural nature of murder and the moral conundrum that …show more content…
This blood marks that Macbeth cannot reverse his decision to murder Duncan, yet at the same time it serves as a reminder that Lady Macbeth coerced Macbeth into murdering Duncan. Regardless of Macbeth’s personal desire to kill Duncan, the apparition of the dagger is a representation of Macbeth’s moral conundrum of deciding whether or not to disturb the nature of the world at large and the “gouts of blood” now on the dagger represent Macbeth’s resolution to chase his ambitions rather than to preserve the naturalness of the world (Act II, Scene I). In a natural world, Duncan is alive and Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, however, Macbeth chases his unbridled ambition and shifts the world’s balance towards chaos by murdering Duncan. This bloody decision stains guilt …show more content…
Macbeth believes that “It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood,” which is a double entendre with the former meaning being that Banquo’s bloodline is foretold by the witches to bear kings and the latter meaning being that the Macbeth must shed the blood Banquo and his son to stop Banquo’s bloodline from taking the kingship (Act III, Scene IV). Macbeth’s blood soaked conscience cannot rest easy while those who Macbeth perceives to threaten his ambition remain alive, even if this person is Macbeth’s closest ally. The further Macbeth chases his ambitions, the more the bloody guilt of those he murders stains his morality. Before being stained by the undying guilt of Duncan’s blood, Macbeth would not consider murdering Banquo, his friend, yet now that guilt Macbeth’s morality, he faces the ethical conundrum of either trusting the witches prophecy that Banquo’s bloodline will gain the kingship or preserving what is left of the natural balance of the world by allowing Banquo’s and his son’s blood to remain inside their respective bodies. Of course, Macbeth’s boundless ambition to protect his own power leads him to follow the former path and thus Macbeth’s morality further corrupts as the blood of Banquo further stains his
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.
“This tyrant whose sole name blisters our tongues, was once thought honest…” (77). This quote represents the change of Macbeth throughout the play. The use of blood imagery is used to represent the character development of Macbeth from a noble thane to a murdering tyrant. We first see blood imagery characterizing Macbeth when he is called noble for defeating Norway. Then, the idea of un-washable blood shows that Macbeth’s character will change. When Macbeth begins to experience the blood of others on his own hands, it leads him to ultimately become the “villain” or antagonist of the play. Finally, before the death of Macbeth, blood imagery has been used to characterize Macbeth so much that he is now over confident and seems to be fueled by the idea of it. By examining the use of blood imagery, one can determine that blood represents Macbeth’s character development from an honorable thane to a disrespected tyrant.
The play identifies how Macbeth faced guilt after he killed his King, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable.” Macbeth is hallucinating a dagger in which was caused by the guilt he feels after killing King Duncan. Macbeth also states, “I’ll go no more.I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on ’t again I dare not…..What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine….” Macbeth’s emotions are everywhere. After he killed King Duncan he immediately regretted it as he explains that no water, not even Neptune’s ocean can wash the blood and guilt off his hands. Macbeth not only faced guilt but he also losses his sanity. Macbeth hallucinates Banquo’s ghost making him scared and on edge, “[to the Ghost]. What man dare, I dare. Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The armed rhinoceros, or th’ Hyrcan tiger; Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble. Or be alive again And dare me to the desert with thy sword. If
In ACT II hallucinations are used an experience in which involves an apparent perception. When visions of the dagger are presented in front of Macbeth “Is this the dagger which I see before me” ACT II SCENE ii it reminds Macbeth of the murder of Duncan. The dagger in which is presented in front of Macbeth is to his vision covered with blood as it points to the kings chamber,
As the apex of William Shakespeare’s exceptional literary career, Macbeth exemplifies the utilization of literary devices to accent themes and ideas. Though set in the midst of an actual struggle in eleventh or twelfth century Scotland, this classic tale of envy, power, and corruption was written in the sixteenth century. Macbeth chronicles the degradation of Macbeth, his morals, and his conscience as the Scottish thane increases his power through murder and intimidation. Shakespeare highlights the irony of the actions of both Macbeth and other central characters throughout the play. Parallel scenes are also commonly used to stress the contrast between personas of various characters and their true identities. By using irony and parallel scenes to illuminate the continuous contrast between appearance and reality that is the crux of the plot of Macbeth, Shakespeare created a literary work of art that has been enjoyed and analyzed for centuries.
Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 2 Scene 1 gives us an understanding and description of how Duncan will be murdered. “I see thee still ; And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood.” (2.1.45-46) Macbeth is talking about what he will see when he murders Duncan. This gives a clear image of a sharp dagger covered in blood from the tip to the dudgeon. The wounds of Duncan being deep and how his body will look after being stabbed multiple times that his blood will emerge from his body. When Macbeth achieves and kills King Duncan he feels guilty for it “What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes! Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? (2.2. 59-60) Macbeth has recognized that his guilt can never be washed off, even if the blood washes off his hands. His guilt will affect the world around him, he compares it to an ocean. Macbeth begins to hallucinate, he imagines his hands plucking out his eyes in reward for murdering Duncan. This is because he realized what he has done will be with him forever, Duncan’s blood may wash away but they will always remain as a memory of what he has done. His actions costed him severe consequences as the play pursues he gets his head chopped off. Overall, this shows that we must think before we do anything as it can affect us forever and sometimes it becomes unbearable to live with. Macbeth will always live with
If a picture tells a thousand words, than imagine the importance of an image upon a play such as Macbeth. In any literary work, it is extremely important that the author can effectively manipulate a reader's feelings towards a character. In Macbeth, that feat is accomplished magnificently by Shakespeare. Through his skillful use of imagery, Shakespeare shows us a deeper look into the true character of Macbeth. Though imagery is widespread throughout Macbeth, it is most dominant in clothing imagery, light and darkness imagery, and blood imagery. Through these images,
Macbeth voices this hallucination when he states, "I see thee still, and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, which was not so before" (Macbeth 2.1.46-48). The false appearance of blood on Macbeth's dagger asserts his hesitancy to murder Duncan. In this case, blood symbolizes the possible guilt of Macbeth upon the murder of Duncan. Immediately following the murder of Duncan, Macbeth uses the symbol of blood to assert the magnitude of his crime. Macbeth conveys immediate concern when he states, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?...
Macbeth is elaborating that the blood of King Duncan’s is flowing out of his body like a fountain. King Duncan’s children bloodline has ended due to their father’s death. There will no long be a flowing bloodline for Duncan. The murder weapon is discovered by Lennox, which are the daggers. “Their hands and faces were all badged with blood; so were their daggers, which unwiped we found Upon their pillows.”
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.
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...
The scene with Macbeth finding a bloody dagger thinking “ And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood.” (2.1.55) This asserts guilt through the symbolism of blood, that Macbeth imagines blood on the dagger on the grounds that he feels guilty about what he is going to do. When Macbeth orders the murderers to kills his friend Banquo and he returns as a ghost. Macbeth tells that "There’s blood upon thy face". (3.4.16) The blood also symbolizes guilt because Macbeth indirectly kills Banquo and now Macbeth knows that the blood of a person who is murdered will come back to the person who committed the murder. Another scene utilizing blood as a symbol is when Macbeth assumes the throne as king of Scotland and mentions to Banquo about Malcolm and Donalbain fleeing to England and Ireland saying “We hear our bloody cousins are bestowed In England and in Ireland.” (3.1.33-34) The word “bloody” mention by Macbeth portrays how Macbeth wants Banquo to see that the two sons are guilty and fled because they killed their father. The recurring symbol of blood symbolizes guilt from the actions characters that are responsible for a specified wrongdoing.
“.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.
This is first shown in Act 2 where Macbeth begins his monologue, “I see thee still, And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There’s no such thing.” (II I 46-48) Before reuniting with Lady Macbeth, Macbeth sees a bloody dagger floating in the air. The dagger appears shortly before Macbeth proceeds to murder Duncan. The dagger in this instance is used to symbolize Macbeth’s hesitation as at this point in time, Macbeth could have chosen to turn back and abandon his pursuit to becoming king. Macbeth chose to persist however, and the blood covering the dagger was a prognostication of the crime he would soon commit. Shakespeare imparts here that emotions like hesitation are meant to be pondered over, not skimmed over. Macbeth took reckless actions, and his abysmal situation reflects that. Macbeth’s inner-conflict is further shown in Act 4 where he states, “For the blood-boltered Banquo smiles upon me And points at them for his.” (IV I 129-130) Macbeth is visibly shaken by the sudden appearance of a bloody Banquo. The appearance of Banquo is due to the three witches summoning him by ceremony, much to Macbeth’s dismay. Macbeth’s petrified reaction tells of how he is still constantly tormented by his murdering of Banquo. Macbeth begins to shout and command for Banquo to disappear. The summoning of Banquo continues to tell of Macbeth’s human nature
Shakespeare is very intelligent in his choice of images. He continuously uses common images which transcend time, as they are central to human nature. This enables the imagery’s effect to stay constant, no matter who reads it or when it is read. Works Cited Shakespeare, William, and Aaron Durband. Macbeth.