The night of Duncan's murder is a good example of imagery from the play. Lennox does not yet know that Duncan was murdered but describes the night as being horrible. He says that the wind was blowing very hard, there were screams of death through the night, and the Earth shook like no one has ever seen. This imagery creates a meaning that Duncan's death had a great impact on everything and that things are only going to get worse. Blood also adds a lot of symbolism to the play. It obviously represents death, murder, and things of that sort but it also represents guilt and fear. This is best shown in the scene when Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking trying to wash the blood off of her hands. She says "Wash your hands. Put on your nightgown. Look not
In literature as in life, blood is not only in the body, but symbolizes many other things. The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare describes the life of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and how they become ruthless killers. They are determined to get power and will not stop until Macbeth and his sons are kings. Throughout the Macbeth by Shakespeare, blood is a prominent symbol and represents murder, guilt, and the difference between characters. Blood represents murder when Macbeth returns from war and when Duncan’s guards are killed. Also, blood represents the guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after the murder of Duncan. Moreover, the difference between Duncan and Lady Macbeth is represented by blood. Altogether, blood symbolizes murder, guilt, and different characters in Macbeth.
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.
Shakespeare uses motifs in many of his works to add more depth to his writing. His play Macbeth includes various motifs such as blood. Blood is one of the most important motif in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and can be seen throughout the entire play. In Macbeth the motif blood symbolizes guilt, mental illnesses, and insecurity/uneasiness.
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.
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.
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.
There are many symbols used in Macbeth that help us to better understand the play. In the following paragraphs I will explain them in depth. There are four symbols that I will discuss below, they are light and darkness it represents the good and bad things that take place throughout the play. The second symbolism is blood. The blood represents murder and guilt like the blood on the dagger and the blood on Lady Macbeth's hand. The weather represents the different tragedies that take place and another symbolism is the dead children.
Imagery is the use of symbols to convey an idea or to create a specific atmosphere for the audience. Shakespeare uses imagery in Macbeth often, the most prevalent one, is blood. I believe he uses this as a way to convey guilt, murder, betrayal, treachery and evil, and to symbolize forewarning of events.
The biggest role of blood in the play was becoming a stigma of guilt for characters including Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This was first evident when Macbeth had just killed King Duncan. He enters with a bloody dagger in his hand
Shakespeare employs symbolism and imagery to explore the themes of Good vs. Evil and Suffering in his play Macbeth. Shakespeare uses blood to portray murder and wrongdoing, “I am in blood, stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.” (III. iv. 136). He uses daggers to portray the same idea, and the two are often used with each
of blood in the play. It also plays a big part because both Macbeth and
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.
The significance of blood in Macbeth changes frequently from honour to betrayal, to guilt and then back to honour again when Macduff kills Macbeth. Also, the blood was used to represent good and evil. When good people were mentioned like Malcolm or Duncan, it was used it was used for good, to show bravery and heroic deeds. When bad people were mentioned like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, it was used for evil things like murder, and betrayal. It gave a good understanding of the character’s personalities, and contributed to the richness and excitement of the play.
... 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). Blood symbolizes the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on the consciences of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, one that hounds them to their graves.
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...