Macbeth Research Paper

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.

William Shakespeare's he play Macbeth takes place in a time in which violence and barbaric bloodshed determine who has power: if one is not willing to kill, he/she is not fit to be a true leader. Shakespeare uses his knowledge of this historic time period to construct a play that utilizes the horrific bloodshed and murder that occured in the feudal times. Shakespeare also demonstrates his creativity by using blood to symbolize the mental states of characters. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the motif of blood is symbolic of violence, guilt, and fear -- all themes that affect the characters in the play.

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.

William Shakespeare enhances his play, Macbeth, by including a variety of motifs. “In a literary work, a motif can be seen as an image, sound, action or other figures that have a symbolic significance and contributes toward the development of theme,” (Literarydevices.net). In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses sleep, blood, hallucination, darkness and many other motifs to show importance in the play. Beginning with the battle between the Scots and the Norwegian invaders, blood is one of the most significant motifs that are presented in Macbeth. Shakespeare uses blood to symbolize power, courage and heroism as well as, death, cruelty and guilt.

Shakespeare employs a great deal of imagery to depict certain situations, for example he uses the image of blood many times. At this stage in the play Lady Macbeth is confident while Macbeth is subject to frightened loyalty. However, what Macbeth fears is evil of committing the evil deed rather than the evil deed itself. It is al this stage that one can first realise a chink of humanity in the originally confident and cold lady Macbeth. The murder has just been committed and Lady Macbeth relates to Macbeth how the assassinated Duncan appeared to her. “Ha he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.” Suddenly through the hard exterior that Lady Macbeth possesses, she sees her father as the old man lying murdered on the

Sprinting with my shoulders sagged from the weight of my backpack that was virtually bursting with books and the worries about an upcoming Macbeth paper, I quietly pushed open the doorways of my parents' Chinese restaurant and bolted to the kitchen. I was late. I quickly plopped my backpack next to a bag of frozen chicken, changed into my uniform, and manned the front counter. For the next seven hours, my customers will be greeted with a zealous "Taipei Tokyo, how can I help you" while I simultaneously try to count the syllables of Macbeth's soliloquy with my fingers.

Many people in today's society believe that they have to be on top in order to have power over people. So many people want power but only a few know how to handle it without letting it get to their heads. In the story “No Fear Shakespeare, Macbeth”, Macbeth became overly ambitious and wanted to do what it took to become king, even if that meant that he had to kill his own king for the throne. When someone is overly ambitious they will do anything and everything in their power to get what they

Imagery should evoke all senses in the audience or reader. It is for this reason that Shakespeare uses blood imagery in Macbeth. Using this method, Shakespeare reveals the transformation of the tragedy’s main characters and evokes varying emotional responses from the audience. This imagery also intensifies the excitement and enhances the treachery of the crimes. The blood imagery in Macbeth is significant for several reasons. Primarily, it signifies that the essence of the victims’ life has left; and, as such, it symbolizes the loss of true humanness in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who share responsibility for the murders. For, in shedding the blood of the god-like Duncan and the good Banquo, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth become stained with the sin of their bloody deeds. Finally, with so much imagery of blood, the horror of Macbeth’s heinous deeds leaves a lasting effect upon

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.

Macbeth is another Shakespearean work revered by critics for its great use of literary tools, such as, its use of imagery, amongst other things. Arguably, the use of blood within the play is amongst the most scintillating motifs used throughout the duration of the play. Of course, the most outstanding use of blood imagery can be seen in Act IV, Scene I when Lady Macbeth’s imagination controls her actions. Ultimately, the most conspicuous element within the play was blood or more importantly the contribution blood had to the emotional development of Macbeth and Lady

In the opening acts of the play, sleep represents innocence because Macbeth and Lady Macbeth lose their innocence as a result of the choices they made. In 2.2, blood is shed. While Macbeth kills Duncan, he thinks he hears

     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 highly acclaimed play called Macbeth often uses many literary devices and imagery to come to a conclusion about a topic. One of the frequent uses of imagery in this play is the imagery of sleep and death. Shakespeare often uses the sleep and death imagery to set a tense and eerie tone in the play. This is seen in the actions of Lady Macbeth in act 5 of the play, the actions of the character Macbeth, and the scene of and following Duncan’s death.

Macbeth sees a bloody dagger in his dreams, and recognizes that it is his guilt that reveals this message to him. The power of guilt is seen through Macbeth in this moment because Macbeth’s guilt for even thinking of killing Duncan unhinges him and causes him to hallucinate the death event of Duncan after dreaming of it. This instance of guilt signifies that there is no hope for Macbeth because his ambition has taking control of him.

Macbeth screams imagery!  Shakespeare uses imagery of blood and sleep  to create an atmosphere of horror, during the killing of Duncan, which contributes to our sense of Macbeth's growing insanity.  Eventually Lady Macbeth's final scene is enhanced with the use of blood imagery which reflects her guilt.  Shakespeare's use of imagery connects the feeling of horror from audience to play.