Imagery And Imagery In Macbeth

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Recommended: Use of signs and symbols

In many plays the use of symbols and imagery is used to convey the meaning of the play in a more in depth fashion. In the successful play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare applies the imagery of blood, animals, and sickness to express the themes of the theatre piece. As it has been said in the principle topics: “Various image patterns support the sense of corruption and deterioration that pervades the dramatic actions of Macbeth” (Principle of Topic 237). Blood is sued to display the guilt and ambition of the characters, animals are used as an analogy to foreshadow or explain the feeling of the characters, and Sickness is used to demonstrate the mental state at which the characters are left in.

The imagery of blood like Spurgeon suggests is often linked with the feeling of fear, horror, and pain (Spurgeon 126). Often time’s blood is linked to the feeling of guilt and in this case Lady Macbeth calls upon the spirits asking them to make her strong and stop the feeling of remorse. This is seen when she says: “Of direst cruelty: make thick my blood, stop up the access and passage to remorse” (Shakespeare, I.v.43-44). This quote is important because it demonstrates the use of blood to convey strength and the will to commit evil. This links with the major theme of Macbeth, showing that Lay Macbeth is asking the spirits to poison her soul allowing her ambition to take over herself. To add, in some cases symbolism of blood could be linked to regret and horror like Macbeth after he killed Duncan in his chambers. At this time Macbeth said: “With all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine” (II.i.60-64). This quote demonstrates the regret and guilt M...

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...dy Macbeth as a disease that can not be cured for she is now destined to die. This imagery of sickness leads to the theme of fear and the end the Lady Macbeth. She is so far gone in her pool and deaths that there is no going back for her and the use of the imagery of sickness helps show how far Lady Macbeth really is.

In the successful play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare applies the imagery of blood, animals, and sickness to express the themes of the theatre piece. The uses of imagery are fundamental in the plays of Shakespeare because they help the audience interpret or understand the passage or the play as a whole. It is important to recognize the difference imagery can make on the theme of the play and how much it can help enhance the ideas. The use of imagery is prominent in Macbeth and is used frequently to help the overall themes of the play.

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