King James, ruler of England in the seventeenth century, faced the challenge of appealing to a public in mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth. He provided a contrasting political approach to that of his selfless, revolutionary predecessor, which the English population did not approve. King James believed fiercely in the importance of the natural chain of being, a theory of his era which states every person has a predestined rank in order of importance, beginning with God, followed by kings and queens, and finishing with children. In an attempt to garner public admiration of King James, William Shakespeare wrote his famous tragedy, Macbeth, as a propaganda piece to promote King James’s belief in the importance of obeying the natural …show more content…
After killing King Duncan to inherit the throne, Macbeth experiences feelings of extreme guilt for his actions, stating, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather/ The multitudinous seas incardine,” (2.2.77-79). Macbeth compares his guilt to blood, suggesting that his guilt for committing this action is eternal and all consuming, as is the figurative eternal blood capable of turning the ocean red. This implies that interfering with the natural chain of being will result in all consuming feelings of remorse for committing such an egregious deed. Later in the play, Macbeth kills Banquo to ensure his position as king will remain uninterrupted, again interfering with fate and the natural chain of being. As a result of this crime, Macbeth becomes fearful for his safety, proclaiming, “It will have blood; they say blood will have blood,” (3.4.151). This statement means that committing murder will result in the murderer being killed as reciprocation. The threat of being killed as punishment for killing is amplified because of the importance of Macbeth’s victims and their position on the natural chain of being. The use of blood imagery draws attention to and highlights the importance of this line by correlating Macbeth’s disturbing thoughts to a universally …show more content…
During Elizabethan time, it was common practice to believe that unnatural events are reflected through strange events in nature. Animal imagery in Macbeth is used to portray these unnatural events in relation to Macbeth’s actions against the natural chain of being. Lennox, unaware of Macbeth’s murder of the king, relays these strange happenings by stating, “Of dire combustion and confused events/ New hatch’d to the woeful time; the obscure bird/ Clamour’d the live-long night: some say the earth/ Was feverous and did shake,” (2.3.62-65). The image of an “obscure bird” and its association with “confused events” of “the woeful time” creates an uneasy atmosphere which emphasizes the destructive effects disobeying the natural chain of being has on nature. This association is expressed further when animals begin to act out of the ordinary, doing strange things such as, “A falcon tow’ring in her pride of place/ Was by a mousing owl hawk’d and kill’d,” (2.4.14-15). This unnatural phenomenon, along with others portrayed in the play, mirror Macbeth’s unnatural action of killing King Duncan. This proves that the theory of the natural chain of being has validity and that it is ingrained in the foundation of not only society, but of the entire natural
The evil deed of murdering the king becomes too much of a burden on the Macbeths. The blood represents their crime, and they can not escape the sin of their actions. Macbeth realizes that in time he would get what he deserves. Since he can not ride himself of his guilt by washing the blood away, his fate may have been sealed. They
No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.’ Here Shakespeare uses the language technique of allusion in conjunction with symbolism to express how much Macbeth is overwhelmed with guilt from murdering King Duncan. The first question Macbeth asks to himself is him wondering if the guilt inside him will ever leave, and the second part is him realising that the murder was so bad - that guilt will never be rid from his conscious. We see this again later in the play after Macbeth is responsible for more murders: “… I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more. Returning were as tedious as go o’er” The blood spoken about is used in both a literal and symbolic sense.
In the early 1600’s, William Shakespeare penned an Aristotelian tragedy ‘Macbeth’ which provides his audiences both then and now with many valuable insights and perceptions into human nature. Shakespeare achieves this by cleverly employing many dramatic devices and themes within the character of ‘Macbeth’. Macbeth is depicted as an anti-hero; a noble protagonist with a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. This tragic flaw of Macbeth’s, heavily laden with the themes of ‘fate or free will’, and ‘ambition’, is brought out by Shakespeare in his writing to present us with a character whose actions and final demise are, if not laudable, very recognisable as human failings.
Macbeth is a play which is concerned with supernatural forces, ambition, masculinity and strength. It is the tale of a good man turned evil due to ambition and the consequences which eventually lead to his dramatic downfall. These challenged the values of the society of this period and provoked morality. There is a sequence of recurring imagery throughout Macbeth which is significant to assist with the audiences understanding of the play. This technique also reinforces the themes and events, heightening the overall atmosphere. These products of our imagination are important symbols, visually clarifying our presumptions and speculations and creating mental pictures.
One of the most prominent symbols of guilt throughout Macbeth is blood. Blood is symbolic even in our culture today, representing life but also death, war, and guilt. This is true in Macbeth as well: there are many instances where a character is feeling that guilt tug at him or her, and it is communicated through blood. For example, after Macbeth kills King Duncan and his wife leaves to take care of the daggers, he begins to talk to himself. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” he says, “No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red” (2.2.57-60). This is one of the first instances where blood is connected to the guilt of Macbeth. Macbeth feels as though his crime has stained him, and it cannot be washed away.
The seventeenth-century play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, employs blood as a powerful symbol to amplify the tragic nature of the work. Prior to, and immediately following Duncan’s death, blood magnifies the treachery of Macbeth’s murderous act. Throughout the play, Blood constantly reminds the audience of the ruthless means the Macbeths implement to gain the crown. In the culmination of the play, blood symbolizes the irreconcilable guilt that will haunt the Macbeths for the duration of their lives. Blood’s ubiquitous symbolism emphasizes the constant guilt felt by the Macbeths in their tragic pursuit of the monarchy.
In the tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays the damaging effects of one man’s boundless ambition to himself and those around him. Macbeth, a martyr of his own strife, pursues power in his kingdom at the expense of others. His ultimate death resulted in the end of his tyrannical rule, but the death of his moral character resulted in part from the guilt he endured. The play is analyzed today for the similarities in human nature of modern society to that of Elizabethan times: moral plagues like guilt, ambition and hierarchy dominates humanity. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses motifs to symbolize the various emotions and themes surrounding the events of the play. Primarily, Shakespeare’s use of the motif of blood to represent guilt is shown in
The longest running tradition in medicine, bloodletting, was a widely accepted practice with a three-thousand year-old history from the ancient Egyptians to the late 19th century. At that time, physicians thought that disease was a curse caused by the supernatural. It was a common idea that blood carried the vital force of the body and was the seat of the soul. Anything from body weaknesses to insanity were attributed to a defect in this vital fluid. Bloodletting was a method for balancing other fluids in the body and cleansing it of impurities. Shakespeare takes the same knowledge of blood and applies it to “Macbeth” in which the connotations not only foretell one’s glory but also one’s 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.
Use of Blood Imagery in Macbeth William Shakespeare uses many techniques to liven up the intensity, and the excitement, of 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. MacBeth’s soliloquy in Act 2 scene 1 gives the reader a description of how Duncan will be murdered.
After the first murder scene, when Macbeth stabs King Duncan in his sleep, he encounters a great deal of guilt towards the murder. This is shown by a quote from Macbeth, "With all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas in carnadine, making the green one red", at this point in the play, blood is resembled mostly by guilt. What Macbeth is really saying is that not even the entire ocean could wash his hands clean of blood from this dirty deed he had committed. He feels that what he had done was so wrong and shameful there is not a way in the world to hide it, the ocean is an excellent way to portray this. After the discovery of Duncan’s murder in the third scene, Macbeth exaggerates the king’s wounds," His silver skin lac’d with his golden blood, and gash’d stabs look’d like a breach in nature..." Macbeth most likely said this to drive away any thought of him being the murderer. The word "golden" resembles the King’s blood, referring to his social status not only as a King, but as a well liked member of society. The word “blood,” produces a dreadful description of the king’s murder which aids the audience in picturing this horrific murder scene.
Macbeth is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare which deals about the consequences of excessive greed. Shakespeare also uses an abundance of literary devices especially nature and animal imageries. These imageries are used to represent the disturbance in the Great Chain1 which is shown through the murder of King Duncan which destroys the natural order of things especially in the succession to the throne. The birds play the critical role of conveying this idea through foreshadowing and characterization.2
“.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.
There are a variety of fluids in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth such as milk, water and blood. Milk quenches one’s thirst, whereas blood pours out of a person. Water is used to wash stains away, whereas blood can taint a person. The blood image is very potent throughout Macbeth and reinforces the major themes of bravery, guilt, and violence evoked by the three witches.
He thinks this blood is permanent and cannot be cleaned. Blood can be cleaned easily by water and not be visible anymore, but it is that dark patch which blotches Macbeth’s conscience that cannot be erased. Macbeth using all of Neptune’s ocean is a hyperbole because he does not need that much water to wash blood off his hands. But he is not talking about the blood he can visually but instead of the blood that has tainted his soul and conscience. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s guilt actually decreases. He begins to commit more and more murders despite feeling incredibly guilt after his first. This shows how Macbeth progresses as a character. Killing for him has become a habit by the last act of the play and blood spilled selfishly, for personal gain, does not matter to him anymore. Therefore, Macbeth experienced guilt when he killed Duncan and “saw” blood on his