Essay about Imagery in macbeth

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For the Shakespeare’s Macbeth creative project, my partner and I decided to re-work the play into a child-friendly, fairy tale version. We kept only the parts of the play that would be simple enough for children to understand. One of the motifs that we decided to put in the book was image of blood. Blood is an important symbol that represents the guilt which comes with sin. On the cover of the book the images reference the gender roles mentioned in the play that are not blatantly mentioned in the book. The recurring image of blood and the topic of gender roles both show the weaknesses and strengths in qualities of the characters.
The recurring imagery of blood is used as a symbol to demonstrate the constant feelings of guilt and remorse felt by the characters, leading to their feelings of fear. Lady Macbeth helps convince Macbeth and prepare him for the murder of Duncan. She asks the gods to “make thick [her] blood” and “stop up th’ access and passage to remorse” (1.5.47-51). Having any regrets or guilt will impede her ability of killing Duncan, which will then prevent her and Macbeth from taking the throne. This guilt soon turns into fear, and the fear causes her character to become mentally unstable. Macbeth has a moment where he questions the act of murdering Duncan. He wonders if “all great Neptune’s ocean [can] wash this blood/Clean from [his] hand,” but he is quick to decide that “the multitudinous seas incarnadine,/Making the green one red” (2.2.78-81). Neptune is the Roman god of the waters, and not being able to wash away the blood from his hands, even with the help of a god, shows the magnitude of the murder and the guilt that comes with it. The realization of the severity of Macbeth’s sin also brings him immense grief and regret. When Macbeth starts to worry about killing Banquo, he recalls the guilt and discomfort that came after Duncan’s death. He explains to the audience that “with thy bloody and invisible hand/Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond/Which keeps me pale” (3.3.54-56). Macbeth’s hand is scared with blood, just as his heart is filled with guilt, but this guilt and pain is hidden to the rest of the world. He is forced to hide his feelings to prevent any suspicion from the people around him. The imagery of blood is evident in Macbeth as an important symbol of guilt, which
The disruption on gender in Macbeth is shown through Lady Macbeth’s dominant role in the relationship between her and Macbeth. Lady Macbeth first shows this disruption when she asks the “spirits/That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” (1.5.47-48). She is asking the gods to make her lose her womanly qualities of weakness and gain more manly qualities of strength and
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