Blood Act II : Macbeth

After blood has been referred to a few times with reference to honor, the symbol of blood changes to show a theme of treachery and treason.  Lady Macbeth begins the transition when she asks the spirits to "make thick my blood" (I.v.50). What Lady Macbeth means is that she wishes to be remorseless and insensitive about the murders she and Macbeth will soon commit. Lady Macbeth knows that the evidence of blood is a treacherous symbol, and also knows that if they are found with bloody daggers they will be hanged for their betrayal of the king.  For this reason, she tells Macbeth to "smear the sleepy grooms with blood"(II.ii.64).  Macbeth replies, "If he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal /for it must seem their guilt"(II.ii.72-3).   When Banquo states "let us meet and question this most bloody piece of work"(II.iii.150), and Ross replies "Is't known who did this more than bloody deed?"(II.iv.31), they are both inquiring as to who performed the treacherous act upon Duncan.

This provides a wide contrast as to his reaction to Duncan’s murder when Macbeth would not return to Duncan’s room because he was horrified by what he had done and feared being reminded of it. Macbeth shows no regret and only anger in the failed murder attempt of Banquo’s son. Afterward, Macbeth longs for even more blood to be shed to secure his ambitions. Macbeth continues in killing, saying, “It will have blood they say, blood will have blood” (3.4. 124), to justify his increasing number of murders, for he thinks his conscience cannot be relieved.With each murder, Macbeth becomes more brutal, eventually murdering even the innocent wife and children of Macduff. When a frightened servant comes to tell Macbeth of the approach of ten thousand English soldiers, Macbeth is enraged by the servant's face, which is pale with fear. He tells the servant, “Go prick thy face, and over-red thy fear, / Thou lily-liver'd boy" (5.3.14-15). Macbeth is mocking the servant; he means that the only way the boy can even look courageous is by pricking it to make it bleed. Afterwards, he becomes distracted, talking and giving orders to several people at once, making incoherent commands that show the worsening instability of his mind. As the critic Frank Kermode once stated “ Macbeth loses his distinctive humanity (Thrasher, 77)”. This leads Macbeth to the doom that awaits him for in the end when the only way to rid

Before Macbeth goes through with his plan to kill King Duncan, he sees a bloody dagger floating before him. Hallucinating, Macbeth says to the dagger “I see thee still, /and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, / which was not so before... There’s no such thing: / It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes” (Shakespeare, 370). When Macbeth explains the “bloody business” he is referring to the killing of King Duncan. Although Duncan has trusted Macbeth to keep him safe in his home, Macbeth’s thoughts show his contemplation whether to murder King

William Shakespeare uses different techniques to increase the excitement and intensity in his plays. Macbeth is the dramatic play written by William Shakespeare has many good examples of imagery, especially that of blood. William Shakespeare’s play about Macbeth is a story of ambition and intrigue. The ambition creates actions that lead to the breakdown of the main character and which drove

The story illustrates the act of murder has changed Macbeth’s character. But it no longer does the blood connote an image of ambition; it now symbolizes guilt, remorse, and an entry into the gates of hell from which no one can return. Macbeth laments that not even all the water in the sink will wash the blood off his hands, he is beginning to realize the immensity of his crime, and that he has done something truly evil. Macbeth say, “It will have blood,they say. Blood will have blood./ By magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth/ The secret’st man of blood./ What is the night? (Act III, Scene 4, Lines 122-126). The imagined blood haunts both characters, following them until their death.

     Despite the use of blood as a good connotation, Shakespeare uses blood to describe other connotations. In many instances, blood is what haunts Macbeth before and after the murder. “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” (II.ii.78-81). No matter if it is a little water or a whole ocean of water, Macbeth feels that no amount of water will clean the blood off his hands. Blood used in this context is sinful and evil. With guilt, he knows that what he has done will never be undone like the blood on his hands. When hallucinating the dagger, Macbeth sees that the blade has “gouts of blood, / Which was not so before. There’s no such thing. / It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes” (II.ii.58-61). The imagery of blood on a sharp knife brings evil connotations and foreshadows the violence and goriness that is anticipated. Macbeth refers to the

iv. 136-140). From this quote it can be inferred that Macbeth is concerned for himself because of all of the crimes that he is committed and is scared that people are coming after him. He has already stepped in the river of blood but cannot go back because he is already too deep and plans to continue farther. Holding the guilt of killing the most beloved King and the thought that people are coming after him, drives Macbeth to making poor decisions to protect himself and the use of blood helps the reader to see how insane Macbeth really is. Macbeth is not the only character in the play who goes insane because of guilt, his wife Lady Macbeth too goes insane with holding the guilt of ruining lives of innocent people. At one point she feels so guilty she begins to have hallucinations and even starts sleepwalking and talking. During the night when she was sleepwalking she tried to remove the blood that has stained her hands and becomes extremely paranoid that the blood is not coming off. It can be inferred that even though Lady Macbeth only helped to plan the murders she never actually kill someone, but she still carries the guilt as if she did. Shakespeare is trying to showcase with the motif of blood that no matter what type of crime is committed there is still guilt and

Blood coats the play Macbeth from the beginning to end. It plays an important part in this play and is mentioned over 40 times. (english) Blood itself is a source of life and shocking to see. The constant presence of blood in Macbeth repeatedly reminds the audience about how serious the consequences of the characters actions are. The blood remains on the hands of faces of the murderers. They are unable to remove the feel , or stain of the blood therefore showing their immense guilt. Just before he kills King Duncan,

Blood is essential to every human beings survival. It is a fluid circulating throughout the body that carries nutrients and oxygen to the tissues in exchange for life and if this was somehow lost then the life would also be lost. It represents life, death, and injury. It is an essential part of life. Without it, we would not live. As a symbol and major theme in Macbeth, Blood is used most often to represent injury and death, but also life. In Macbeth, he uses blood to represents impurity. Shakespeare often accompanies the image of water with the image of blood. The water represents cleansing and purity.

In the beginning of the play, blood imagery is very important. "Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chaps, / and fixed his head upon our battlements"(I.ii.22-23). Macbeth has just killed the enemy and become a hero; Macbeth killed the enemy not for fame or fortune but to defend his land and people. In this next quote Macbeth's

One of the first references to blood represents a feeling of honour, and bravery. It is in Act I scene 2 line 1. Duncan says, “What bloody man is that?” when he sees the injured sergeant. Then, from lines 9-33 (The Merciless Macdonwald, etc…) the sergeant tells the story of Macbeth’s heroic victories over Macdonwald and the King of Norway. The telling of this story is, in itself, heroic. It is symbolic of the brave fighter who

Blood represents life, death and often injury. It is an essential part of life, and without blood, we could not live. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the symbol of blood to represent treachery, murder and death. The word "blood", or different forms of it, appear numerous times throughout the play. Interestingly, the symbol of blood changes throughout the play, corresponding to the atmosphere and mood changes in the characters and the play.

Blood reveals Macbeth’s feelings about murder. For example, blood symbolism exposes the apprehensiveness of Macbeth before he kills Duncan . Macbeth hallucinates a dagger floating before him, guiding him towards

     In the play ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare uses brutal imagery, with association of blood.  The mood of disgust and horror towards the characters and setting is established by the references to the universal representation of death and pain. The first mention of blood seems to establish a sense of honor. The second mention of blood seems to communicate betrayal.  Lastly the third allusion of blood appears to establish a sense of guilt All of these images of blood help develop the atmosphere and scene and contribute to the over all drama of the play.

Moreover, Macbeth’s constant paranoia forms hallucinations, illustrating the thesis of how unchecked ambition can lead to madness. His burden with killing is holy king is overpowered by Lady Macbeth’s insults of Macbeth’s manhood. While preparing for Duncan’s murder, Macbeth’s guilty conscience is represented through a dagger as he states, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? [...] thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There’s no such thing. It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes.” (2.1.33-49). Covered with blood, the dagger displays the wicked course of action Macbeth has decided to take. The hallucination underlines the juvenile stages of Macbeth’s decline into tyranny. Macbeth’s ambition