Shed Of Blood In Macbeth

In the play Macbeth, the imagery of blood is used many times to reveal bravery, achievement, and guilt, each creates certain feelings within the audience. Blood is used to show that a deed has been done such as the bloody Captain, but it can be also used to show guilt in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after murdering the King.

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.

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.

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.

     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

One of the many symbolisms for blood is seen through the psychotic imaginization of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth through guilt. Blood is imaginable through the actions and words of the

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.

Blood – the colour, the smell, and texture – is vital to life, yet shocking to see. The Shakespearean play Macbeth is a story filled with much blood and bloody descriptions which give the audience an understanding of the consequences for one’s actions. But what surpasses the physical blood in the story is the imaginary blood which represents the guilt felt by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. As their guilt grows, so does the importance of the blood. Throughout Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, more than physical blood, imaginary blood shows the guilty conscience and changing feelings of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

The dagger that Macbeth imagines leads him to King Duncan’s chamber, where the ‘Death’ of King Duncan takes place. At first he didn’t believe the dagger was real, since he can’t touch it at all, but Macbeth can see it. Macbeth even suggests himself that it might be a hallucination: “Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed

The play, “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is all about greed and overthrowing people to get power. This play has a lot of murdering involved in it, therefore, there is plenty of bloodshed throughout the play. “Macbeth” is known as Shakespeare’s bloodiest plays that he has ever written. Blood in the play symbolizes murder and in some ways in the play it can symbolize bravery and honor. It also symbolizes guilt for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and the actions that they commit during the play. Blood is important to the play because it helps to set the plot of the story.

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 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

In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, visions and hallucinations appear several times. They all serve as terrifying reminders of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s accountability for the murders which have taken place so far. When Macbeth is about to kill Duncan, he sees a dagger floating in the air. Covered with blood and seemingly beckoning him towards the king’s chamber, the dagger represents the course on which Macbeth is about to embark. Later, he sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his chair at the feast, silently reminding him that he murdered his former friend.

Lady Macbeth starts this off when she asks the spirits to "make thick [her] blood"(1.5.50). What she is saying by this, is that she wants to make herself insensitive and remorseless for the deed she is hoping to commit. However, she forces Macbeth to do the deed. Right before killing Duncan, Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air leading him to Duncan?s room and he sees "on the blade and dudgeon gouts of blood"(2.1.58), indicating that the knife has been viciously stabbed into someone. This is a Lady Macbeth knows that the evidence of blood is a treacherous symbol, and knows it will deflect the guilt from her and Macbeth to the servants when she says "If he do bleed, I?ll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt"(2.2.71-73).