William Shakespeare's Macbeth

562 Words2 Pages

Blood drips slowly from Macbeth's gaunt hands, which are the very same hands which have just finished plunging the merciless, gleaming dagger into King Duncan's now lifeless heart. This just goes to show that even the idea of power can lead to complete corruption. Can total domination over a country corrupt those leaders completely? The plays Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet are all examples of when absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In Macbeth, a man named Macbeth hears a prophecy from a few witches, also known as the weird sisters, who predict him obtaining more and more power. Macbeth seems unsure at first; however, as the predictions become true, his wife becomes greedy, and convinces him to murder the king. As he and his wife climb the social status ladder in society, Macbeth becomes more and more ravenous for power. Throughout the play, there is this constant image of blood imprinted into our minds. Macbeth proves this when he says,
“How is’t with me, when every noise appals me?
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,
Making the green one red.” (Act II.2, 56-64)
He is reflecting on the numerous murderous deeds he has committed, and he has begun to realize that his guilt can’t simply be scrubbed off like soap and water. His guilt causes him to tremble at every single small noise. To add on, incarnadine means to change something into a pink/red and Macbeth is making the sea red, or red with the blood of his victims. This reveals that he has so much power that he is getting corrupted to murder more and more, and therefore is “making the green one red,” or turning the sea red with the blood. Neptune is also mentioned as an allusion to the Roman god of the sea, who apparently cannot remove the blood, or as mentioned above, guilt, from Macbeth’s hands. Macbeth gained total domination over Scotland, but was completely corrupted by his mind and what he had done and went crazy, then was slain by Macduff.

A dictator who is filled with self-righteousness, which eventually becomes his downfall, is named Julius Caesar in the play Julius Caesar. Caesar has so much power that he feels like he is truly immortal and unassailable. He shows this righteousness when he says, "I could be well moved if I were as you.

Motif of Blood in Shakespeare's Macbeth
498 Words | 1 Pages
The image and scent of blood symbolizes the unending guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The blood on their hands represents the inability to annul the murder from their memories. While sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth was aggravated with own hands. She was seen muttering, “Out damned spot! Out, I say!” (V,I,39) This proves that her evil deed in still on her conscience.
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Macbeth Essay
850 Words | 2 Pages
“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.
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How Does Shakespeare Present Ambition In Macbeth
820 Words | 2 Pages
You can see this when Macbeth comes home after killing Duncan and he is full of guilt due to the fact that he still has a human part in him and taking the life of another person pains him. The blood on the daggers that he used to kill Duncan remind him that he did kill someone. Macbeth can’t get that image out of his head for the time being, but after time he becomes more ambitious and loses the human side of him. All he is worried about now is getting everyone and everything out of his way. He doesn’t care about the blood that has to be shed or the lives that have to be taken. If he can stay in the power position then he is happy. You can also see this theme in Lady Macbeth when she says “..Making the green one red.” (2.2.81) Lady Macbeth ones to become evil and lose the human side of her just like Macbeth is. This allows her to arrange killings without feeling bad about it and gives he an excuse for the murders her and Macbeth are
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Downfall Of Macbeth's Downfall
1357 Words | 3 Pages
Macbeth, “A matchless soldier, kinsman to the king, wins the king’s battles and the king’s praise” however, “prompted by inner ambitions and external urgings”, he takes rash decisions conclusively ending in his atrophy of his title, power, and position (Bernad 49). Several factors contribute to the downfall of Macbeth, which produce a contagion effect; and ultimately end with his demise. The weird sisters disclose his prophecies which enlighten him about Duncan’s throne; Lady Macbeth abets Macbeth to realize his deep desires and come to the conclusion to murder Duncan; and Macbeth, the most significant contributor, makes his deep desires come to reality. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the weird sisters and Lady Macbeth are important contributors to Macbeth 's downfall, however, they are not mostly responsible. Unlike, the weird sisters and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is the most prominent contributor to his downfall; whose actions, decisions, and state of mind lead to his ruination.
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William Shakespeare's Macbeth
703 Words | 2 Pages
William Shakespeare's Macbeth In Act I, King Duncan is at the top of the chart of power, because he has the most power being the king of Scotland, he is good and kind. king, which holds legitimate and referent power. In Act I, Scene 2, he. announces his eldest son, Malcolm, as heir to the throne, after the throne.
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Dbq Essay On Macbeth
844 Words | 2 Pages
When the Weird Sisters hail Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and the future king, Macbeth’s mind is put under a curse of selfish and greedy ambition. These prophecies controlled the way that Macbeth thought and acted and eventually lead to his downfall. Immediately after the Weird Sisters present Macbeth with the prophecies, Macbeth states to the Weird Sisters “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more...:” (Document A). This statement is the precursor that shows the uprooting of Macbeth’s power-seeking characteristics that were once buried beneath the morals that were “too full o' the milk of human kindness” (Document B). As Macbeth becomes obsessed with the idea of power, his mindset is consumed with fearlessness and he states “what need I fear of thee?” (Document D). This feeling of invincibility is created by the witches “when the witches bring the tidings of Macbeth's elevation to Thane of Cawdor” and “his body seems to act independently of his will” (Cohen). Although the witches did have partial control over the thoughts that preceded Macbeth’s detrimental actions, the final decisions were ultimately controlled by Macbeth
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Macbeth
791 Words | 2 Pages
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.
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William Shakespeare's Macbeth
646 Words | 2 Pages
William Shakespeare's Macbeth In the tragic play "Macbeth", by William Shakespeare, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decide, to kill King Duncan. In the play, we see the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth transform in their personality after murdering the King. Macbeth begins the play as a noble soldier, gradually changing into an ambitious murdering man. Similarly, Lady Macbeth is ambitious but she begins as a rebellious woman who dominates her husband, gradually changing into a guilt ridden, and weak woman.
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The Symbolism of Blood in Macbeth
893 Words | 2 Pages
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?...
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Shakespeare's Macbeth
611 Words | 2 Pages
Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.
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Macbeth Hallucinations Analysis
1134 Words | 3 Pages
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both have very impactful hallucinations that change the course of their fate. The initial meeting with the witches reveals Macbeth’s ambitious nature. The prophecy of becoming king leads Macbeth down a bloody path in which he commits many murders as a result of ambition. Macbeth’s hallucinations reflect his mental state. Throughout the play, Macbeth slowly loses his sanity. Macbeth’s visions and the prophecies of the witches cause Macbeth to make poor decisions which lead him to his eventual downfall.
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The Imagery Of Blood In Shakespeare's Macbeth
858 Words | 2 Pages
“.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.
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Macbeth As A Tragedy According To Aristotles Definition
907 Words | 2 Pages
Key elements in the play substantiate the fact that Macbeth is a serious story, the first elements of Aristotle’s definition. From the first lines of the play, the mood is set featuring witches whom speak of witchcraft, potions and apparitions. Not only do the three witches aid in making this a serious story but also, they appealed to Elizabethans whom at the time believed in such supernatural phenomena. War for centuries has represented killing and feuding, thus, the war taking place between Scotland and Norway provided a dark component. The Thane of Cawdor’s rapidly approaching execution due to his deceiving the king also plays a role in this grim work. Murder throughout all of Macbeth is an essential aspect when dealing with the seriousness of the play. From the beginning, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to do anything to overthrow King Duncan, whom is the king of Scotland, the role Macbeth desperately yearns for. During the excursion to become king, Macbeth successfully murders King Duncan, Macduff’s wife and children, and with the help of a group of murderers Banquo; a brave general who will inherit the Scottish throne. Through the whole play, while such dank occurrences are used to create deep mood, Shakespeare also uses strong language and words. Such as when Lady Macbeth calls upon the gods to make her man-like so she will have the fortitude to kill King Duncan herself in this quote, “Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here… Make my blood thick… Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark.” This type of language provokes thoughts of death, blood and darkness though the imagery such dank words create. The play also follows through with its theme of blood by in the end of the play, having both of its lead characters die. Lady Macbeth, distraught by guilt over the bloodshed, commits suicide while Macbeth is murdered and beheaded by Macduff, a Scottish noblemen.
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Macbeth by William Shakespeare
1082 Words | 3 Pages
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” Once said by Marc Twain, this is an excellent example of the human nature that is represented in the play: Macbeth. Shakespeare demonstrates that all humans have the ability to do good or evil. This is strongly affected by the choices that we make and by our actions. These decisions will have a huge impact on our lives and the lives of others. Throughout the play, Macbeth experienced a huge decent into evil and violent action that lead him to his death. With his thirst for power and constant paranoia, he killed his way to seize the crown. By killing Duncan at the beginning of the play, Macbeth soon realizes that nothing can be undone and his blood stained hands can never be cleaned. “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.3 70) said by Lady Macbeth after Duncan’s murder. But what they don’t know is that this is the start of the bloody massacre that will change who they are and how they think forever. Macbeth has multiple hallucinations and his paranoia leads him to hire murderers to kill Macduff’s family out of anger and spite. Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and gets to the point of madness when she kills herself at the end of the play. This demonstrates that our actions can be affected by human nature and our thoughts can be easily corrupted by temptation.
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Macbeth Blood Symbolism
1100 Words | 3 Pages
His hunger for power leads him towards a down-spiraling path. After becoming king, Macbeth orders the death of Banquo because he thinks Banquo is suspicious that he committed the murder of Duncan. Because he is scared that revenge will be sought, he hires three murders to kill Banquo. Macbeth invites all the noble men to his house for dinner, the same night that the murder of Banquo will be committed. Macbeth sees the first murderer and says “There’s blood upon thy face,” (3.4.13). Then the murderer replies he has left Banquo in a ditch with “twenty trenched gashes on his head,” (3.4.26). Banquo was Macbeth’s loyal and trustworthy friend but Macbeth betrays him and all he has done just to become powerful. Therefore the blood Macbeth sees on the murderer symbolizes that he has betrayed his own friend and, if he keeps murdering, the blood will continue to shed. After speaking to the murderer, Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo with blood on his head and says, “They say blood will have blood,” (3.4.121). This means that the blood of the murder victim will seek the blood of his killer. Macbeth could be seeing his own blood on Banquo’s face foreshadowing that justice will be sought for the crimes he has committed. When Macbeth meets with Macduff on the battlefield he knows his chances of killing Macduff are slim but he admits that he enjoys killing and likes to see blood flow; “Whiles I see lives, the gashes / Do better upon them,” (5.8.2-3). This proves that his hunger for power led him to enjoy killing those he knew and betraying them. Although throughout the play Macbeth appears tough, deep within his conscience, he knows he is
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William Shakespeare's Macbeth

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