Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare uses blood imagery to develop a foil between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. In the play, blood symbolizes the guilt that the characters have. After the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth says, “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather/ The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,/ Making the green one red¨ (2.2). Here Macbeth is filled with guilt over his evil act of killing Duncan and fears that he will have blood on his hands for the rest of his life. While on the other hand, Lady Macbeth feels no guilt and is able to move on past the murder saying, ¨My hands are of your colour; but I shame/ To wear a heart so white¨ (2.2). From the very beginning, Shakespeare establishes …show more content…
To emphasize this, Shakespeare reuses blood to symbolize guilt and makes Lady Macbeth go insane to where she has hallucinations of blood. Unlike in the beginning, however, she can't get rid of the blood so easily: ¨Here's the smell of the blood still: all the/ perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little/ hand. Oh, oh, oh!¨ (5.1). The guilt has been building up in her for so long that it eventually leads to her demise and suicide. Vice-versa, Macbeth has grown to be evil and no longer feels the repercussions of murdering people. He has no guilt whatsoever and even states that he's in too deep that there is no point in turning back now; he should continue killing until he gets what he wants: ¨I am in blood/ Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er¨ (3.3). Robert Fallon, author of A Theatergoer's Guide to Shakespeare's Themes, agrees that Macbeth has changed immensely throughout the play stating that “He is transformed from an initially admirable figure into a monster¨ (184). Fallon further states that “Macbeth is seen initially as a noble figure, loyal to King Duncan” and even after Macbeth has murdered Duncan “he suffers ... from the distress of guilt”
Shakespeare is legendary for his uses of symbolism. No other example is as evident as the bloody hands of Macbeth and his obsession with them. Macbeth has killed King Duncan and doesn’t stop there, he kills the guards making Duncan’s sons flee. This gives Macbeth the throne. However he becomes overwhelmed with the guilt. Shakespeare uses blood to show how it reminds Macbeth of the violent acts he has committed and how he has become obsessed with the blood on his hands.
Lady Macbeth is seen to have the primary fault in the character of Macbeth’s cruel development thus, deserving the blame for the murderous crimes committed. Blood symbolizes the guilt of these murders therefore, it is clearly linked with Lady Macbeth. Her hands are covered by an ocean of blood. “Make thick my blood […] stop us the access and passage to
In Macbeth there is a lot of murders involve in the play, so there a lot of blood involved too. The play Macbeth is like a suspense, because a lot of killing and horror happens. But blood could symbolize Macbeth and his wife because they are there main ones who do the most killing and obviously the bad guys of the play and guilty.
But just like any good story, William Shakespeare doesn't only use the literal meaning of things in Macbeth. Just as blood has literally been in this story, it also symbolises plenty of things throughout the story. For the main characters of the play, Macbeth and his wife, blood symbolises their regret and guilt on their path of continous murder to fulfill their ambition. Following the bloody murder of King Duncan by Macbeth, Macbeth had been emotionally traumitized with guilt over his sefish and cruel act, as like any person with a soul would be like.
Macbeth becomes fixated with the blood on his hands. Although Macbeth feels remorse for his deeds, it doesn’t prevent him from continuing violent acts. Blood symbolizes the guilt that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feel. It is like a permanent stain on their consciences and one that chases them to their graves. Macbeth has a lot of visions and hallucinations throughout the play because
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
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 imagery of blood in Macbeth is a way to understand Macbeth’s fear. He goes from having a “bloody instruction” or plan to kill others, to thoughts of framing other people for the murder he committed with their own “bloody daggers.” After that, Macbeth finds himself thinking about all of the people he killed, and being in a pool of “blood stepp’d so far.” His mindset changes over the course of the book because he gets more and more afraid of the fact that he killed many people and that he might lose the kinship, which is the only thing in his life that pleases
As well as using blood imagery to symbolize guilt, Shakespeare uses it to add a foreboding sense to Macbeth. While mulling over his and his wife’s plot to kill Duncan, Macbeth foreshadows his own downfall by saying,
Right after Macbeth kills the king, he says "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas in incarnadine, Making the green one red.” This exemplifies his guiltiness, as he fears his bloody hands will stain the whole ocean red. Later, after he has killed his dear friend Banquo, he thinks “All causes shall give way: I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er:” He feels that he has shed so much blood that it would be as easy to become completely evil, and the regret inherent in his statement shows that he wishes he was not stepp'd in blood. Right after this, he hallucinates the ghost of banquo, and says to him “But get thee back; my soul is too much charged With blood of thine already.” Since he says his soul is too charged with Banquo's blood, it is obvious he regrets killing him. Ultimately, the imagery around blood provides three further examples of Macbeth's growing
Treachery, deceit, death, greed, and guilt. All perfect terms to describe William Shakespeare's World-Renowned play, Macbeth. Macbeth contains a copious amount of blood imagery, but not all of the imagery has to mean anything, or have the same exact meaning. Blood is omnipresent literally and figuratively throughout the play. What does blood actually mean in Macbeth? Some say blood represents the Macbeths’ guilt, and some include greed. In Jesus's point of view, blood has a holy and sacred meaning of life, and further support from Cliffnotes.com, “Blood itself — the color, the smell, and importance — is vital to life and shocking to see (“Macbeth”),” and yet that point of view almost has no meaning in Macbeth Shakespeare’s use of blood
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Shakespeare incorporates the feeling his idea of guilt into images for the audience. Blood and water are two symbols in Macbeth that function as keys to unlock the hidden message of the effects of guilt. Blood is used to remind Macbeth and Lady Macbeth of their cruel actions, while water acts as a way to cleanse their minds and find their panacea. Shakespeare’s use of the symbols of blood and water demonstrates the powerful nature of guilt to the audience. advise the audience of the possible effect that guilt may have on people.
Macbeth kills Duncan which creates his guilt: “There’s no such thing./It is the bloody business which informs/ Thus to mine eyes” (II. i. 59-61). In this case, blood signifies Macbeth’s guilt. Macbeth gets this guilt from planning to kill Duncan, even though Duncan is the king.
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
The theme of Blood in Macbeth is the symbolism and demonstrates the feeling of guilt the characters have. Which lead to the characters feeling fear and having reoccurring horror in the play. One significant references of blood in the play would be when Macbeth is trying to wash his hands of the blood of Duncan but his guilt is eating him up so bad that, the blood will come off but his guilt will not. “They pluck out mine eyes./ Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather/ The