Macbeth Imagery "Blood"

In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, many motifs are used to accentuate many different themes in the text. These themes are used to further the meaning of the play, as well as to give another definition to the characters in it. Macbeth is a highly ranked military general who is very brave and courageous. In the beginning of the play, three witches come to Macbeth and tell him a prophecy, which tells him that he is destined to become king. Macbeth trusts this prophecy and goes on a tyrannical rampage to become king. Blood is one of many motifs that Shakespeare constantly uses to accentuate many ideas which occur in the play. Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare utilizes blood in order to demonstrate that even if someone is not caught for an immoral action, the guilt they feel and the liability they experience will still punish them.

     In his masterpiece Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs many motifs, but none more often than blood and water. The play includes many images of blood and water to show the characters' attitudes toward their own development of guilt. Both motifs mature and change in their meaning along with the setting and mood of the play. “Without an understanding of the blood and water symbolism, the play cannot be completely understood”(Scott 14). Blood symbolizes honor, treachery, and guilt. Water, in contrast, symbolizes cleanliness and purity of the soul, as though all it takes is water to wash guilt away.

     The second type of literary device that Shakespeare uses in Macbeth is symbolism. The predominant symbol is blood and is used as an effective method to describe the theme of the play. Not only does blood symbolize bravery, it is also a means of showing treachery and treason and probably most importantly, guilt. One example of bravery occurs when the captain says, "For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name--/Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,/Which smoked with bloody execution"(1.2.16-18). Soon after this blood changes into a representation of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to "Make thick my blood,/ Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse" (1.5. 43-44). She asks the spirits to take away compassion and make her remorseless for the actions she is about to take. Also, when Ross asks, "Is’t known who did this more than bloody deed?" (2.4.22), he tries to figure out who performed the disloyal act of murdering the king. Blood is also used many times to express the guilt-ridden consciences of the characters. For instance, Macbeth says, "What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine own eyes!/ Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash the blood/ Clean from my hand?" (2.3.58-60). Macbeth obviously feels guilty for killing Duncan in cold blood. Later in the play, Lady Macbeth

Macbeth is the ultimate story of a fight between the forces of good and evil. It tells the tale of a tragic hero whose quest for power leads to his ultimate downfall. Macbeth starts out as an honorable warrior but changes when his ambition becomes uncontrollable. As he becomes increasingly paranoid, Macbeth uses violent means to eliminate threats to his Scottish throne. As the play progresses, blood continuously plays a part in the events as the murders become more frequent. William Shakespeare, the author of Macbeth, uses blood imagery to develop Macbeth’s character, create a foil in between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and to symbolize honor and guilt.

The violence and the blood that results are important symbols in Shakespeare's Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The blood imagery for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is guilty, murder, remouse and power. It shows Macbeth had killed King Duncan, Banquo and the Guards to get what he want for him to be a king in Shakespeare. Lady Macbeth

     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

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.

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.

At this point in the play, the image of blood is undoubtedly becoming more intense as Macbeth is beginning to expedite the prophecy of the witches (I.iii.50-53). Originally, blood referred to murder, and

In Shakespeare's Macbeth a play, a man named Macbeth goes through a great transformation; Macbeth goes from being a heroic general in the king's army to an assassin and a tyrant. The theme of the play is never give into evil because it destroys no matter what the benefits are. Blood Imagery is very important in the play; it shows Macbeth's evil ambition in the beginning, middle, and end of the play.

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.

Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s reactions to blood underline their inverse attitude changes. Macbeth moves from immeasurable guilt to callous killer, while Lady Macbeth starts as the callous killer and falls to a state of despair. Thus, the blood symbol allows the reader to not only see the character changes of Macbeth’s two main characters, but also compare and contrast these

     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.

The Viewers have known blood to all of us to represent life, death and often injury. Blood is an essential part of life and without blood, we could not live. This is known to everyone, and because of this, when Shakespeare uses the imagery of blood to represent treason, guilt, murder and death. The audience have easily understands it and fits it in perfectly with the ideas we have of blood. Blood is the most prominent and seems to be the most important imagery of Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’.