Macbeth's Images and Imagery

Macbeth recognizes that the dagger is not real and accepts this. This is his first step into insanity. As he admits, his mind is feverish with excitement and perhaps dread, and he understands that this vision is ominous. His internal conflict has now begun to develop; his ambition is driving him to do something and subconsciously he knows it is not right.

     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.

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

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, imagery is used to set the tone of a passage, provide contrast and irony to scenes, and help to display character. Shakespeare applies the imagery of clothing, darkness, and blood in an exceptional manner to describe his play. Each one of these is an important symbol used throughout the play. They add to a complete understanding of a passage or the play as a whole.

9. Shakespeare introduces a flaw in King Duncan’s character in lines 11-14 and reinforces the theme of appearance versus reality

Shakespeare is unarguably famous for his creative and vivid use of imagery in his acclaimed plays. Animal imagery is one literary device he uses often to develop theme and characterize individuals in his plays. One of his most prominent tragedies, Macbeth, contains many examples of animal imagery, most of which characterizes Macbeth himself. Animal imagery at the beginning of the tragedy, such as the comparison of Macbeth to an eagle and a lion, characterize him as loyal, brave, and honorable. As the play develops, however, the animal imagery used, like a predatory bird and a ferocious beast, begins to characterize him as power hungry, violent, and truly inhumane. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses animal imagery to reflect

Imagery is a way to amplify theme in Macbeth by William Shakespeare. It portrays many different themes in the play. Imagery is used in many different ways, such as blood, animals and, light and dark.

In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth evil is conveyed in many ways through characters, themes and settings. Many themes are explored in detail contributing hugely to the sense of evil with characters being used along with these themes to create evil within the characters. These themes and characters are shown in different settings at different times consequently affecting the mood and atmosphere of the play.

Blood is another motif throughout the play. The language used to describe Macbeth’s anguished state is extraordinarily effective in terms of imagery and detail. When Macbeth looks at his hands and thinks they are a “sorry sight” and his hand “will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red” (2.2.58). Shakespeare uses personification to manipulate Macbeth’s bloody hands as witnesses to the murder when Lady Macbeth urges him to “wash this filthy witness from your hands” (2.2.50).

To the modern reader, it may seem laughable to think that the witches in Macbeth are truly supernatural. In this era of skepticism and scientific thinking, superstition is typically relegated to children’s stories and fantasy novels. Today’s just-the-facts mentality makes it difficult for audiences to suspend disbelief as to the nature of the witches. However, it is vital to consider the time period in which the text was written as the prevailing attitudes towards the supernatural were much different than they are today.

William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth, and how a prophecy told by three witches gave him enough courage to commit several murders all in the sake of his political ambition. In various scenes throughout the play we see guilt as a recurring theme affecting both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In Act 2, scene 2—directly after the murder of King Duncan—Macbeth stumbles in with bloody hands and clear reaction of guilt as he says “What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (2.2.62-64). Shakespeare uses a few literary devices in this scene to convey Macbeth’s feeling of guilt. Firstly, he uses the metaphor that these hands in front of him will pluck out his eyes. He does not mean this literally but instead that he will go blind from looking at them much longer because they are covered in blood. Shakespeare then goes on to use exaggeration with the phrase “will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” meaning that it would take a great ocean of the Roman god of the sea Neptune to wash the blood from his hand, not just any lake. Lastly Shakespeare uses a rhetorical question to emphasize the magnitude of guilt Macbeth is feeling. Macbeth asks himself if the whole ocean will wash the blood clean from his hands, and clearly it will not. This is because the blood on his hands is no only physical but metaphorical. Additionally there is the idea that he cannot wash this guilt away. In the next line Macbeth realizes that he cannot simply wash the blood away in the ocean and that if he did the “multitudinous seas” would “incarnadine, making the green one red” (2.2.65-66). Essentially there is so much metaphorical blood on the hands of Macbeth that if he were to wash them in the ocean, it would turn the

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most mystifying plays and is a study of human nature. The theme of appearance versus reality is apparent in Macbeth. It’s filled with numerous, notable, and significant scenes, including when King Duncan visits the Macbeth’s home, Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene, and Macbeth’s dagger soliloquy. They provide raw, psychological insight into the character of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, showcasing the differing characteristics between the two characters. A quote that has developed synonym with Macbeth is, “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1.1.11) which introduces deceptiveness, debut, and one of the most important themes of this tragedy, appearance versus reality. Shakespeare uses numerous characters and situations to emphasize the confusion between appearance and reality, the real and the surreal, the legitimate and the imposturous. Emphasized in these scenes and throughout the play, Shakespeare successfully portrays the misalignment between appearance and reality.

In Shakespeare’s works, there are wide ranges of themes and motifs used to convey his messages. I found that appearance versus reality is a major recurring theme in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. This theme is illustrated through the course of actions following the witches’ prophecies in the characters Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo. As “fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1, 1, 11), we understand that things are not always what they seem. These prophecies seem clear cut and straight to the point, but in reality, they have hidden meanings and foreshadow unexpected turns of events. Through the three mentioned characters, it can be seen that the differences between appearance and reality have a great part in the overall impact of the play. They must hide their true thoughts in

The theme of appearance versus reality is very important in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The characters of Duncan, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth are unable to differentiate between appearance and reality, resulting in tragic consequences. Poor judgment is evidenced by Duncan, who trusts Macbeth too much; Lady Macbeth, who is fooled by the witches; and Macbeth, who is tricked repeatedly by others.

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.