MacBeth: Blood Essay

Submitted By Seanmader
Words: 717
Pages: 3
Open Document
Blood Imagery: Macbeth’s Blood Imagery breathes life into a story. Imagery of a play circulates the flow and pushes the tempo until the last note beats. William Shakespeare uses the image of blood being poisoned by greed in “Macbeth”. Blood imagery traces the transformation of once valiant Macbeth and how he leaves a trail of red leading down to his end as a greedy and evil tyrant. Bravery, reason, and respect are in Macbeth’s blood, but it fuels his effusive ambition, eventually leading to the first drops of blood on his hands. Macbeth always fights for his king, even facing the deadliest of foes directly. He is known as “brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)…” (I, ii, 18), which means he is respected, not to mention that he is such a great warrior, that “his brandished steel… [is] smoked with bloody execution…” (I, ii, 19-20). He learns that he may be king in the future, but obstacles arise. Lady Macbeth suggests “removing” those obstacles in order for his prophecy to come true. The last thread of his chivalry on his coat of arms gives him the wisdom to know better than such deeds. He says that if they kill someone, the law of equivalent exchange will force the same fate on them. “Bloody instructions… return to plague th’inventor” (I, vii, 9-10). Macbeth has the chance to prevent the wound or fall and leave a scrape, allowing more blood to escape a wound he could prevent. Macbeth turns to bloodshed to achieve his ambition and trips, foolishly falling into bloody hands of regret, while having to inevitably suffer from guilt. Macbeth is waiting with a heat-oppressed brain, even before the murder. He waits outside King Duncan’s room, knowing full well that this act is foolish. As if speaking to Duncan, he can “see thee still, and, on thy blade and dudgeon, 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, I, 57-61). Macbeth begins to numb, transforming into a stained and marked man. In the last moments of his “pure” self, he begins to reflect on the life he will lead as a man with blood that will never wash away… “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from his hand?” (II, ii, 78-79). Macbeth will live with a ruined life while dragging his guilt behind him. The blood imagery intensifies as Macbeth’s transformation into an evil tyrant has weaved and sewed its way to a close. The blood will never cease and his transformation to greed is nearly complete. Too much blood has been shed. He is a
Show More

Related Documents: MacBeth: Blood Essay

Blood In Macbeth

life, the decision to stray from or follow what is morally right shapes them as a person. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, blood is a motif that follows many of the characters throughout the play. It’s most simple description being a bodily fluid essential to life and key to being alive and human. In Macbeth, the nation of scotland is humanized as well. However as the play progresses, the idea of blood evolves into not only a marker of one’s humaneness, but also as a symbol of the moral or immoral…

Words 1545 - Pages 7

Significance Of Blood In Macbeth

Nicholas Beatty Mrs. Fry LA Period 4 19 October 2015 Blood Macbeth Essay In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the image of blood is employed to represent allogeneous traits of humans and embody symbolic quiddities of life, such as violence and guilt, allowing it to rise above the status of a mere bodily fluid. Violence is emblematized with blood during Ross’ discussion with an old man."Ah, good father, / Thou seest, the heavens, as troubled with man's act, / Threaten his bloody stage" (2.4.4-6). As Ross proselytizes…

Words 656 - Pages 3

Use Of Blood In Macbeth

Shakespeare's Macbeth is a person should not do deeds that trouble one's conscience.Shakespeare uses the motif blood which symbolizes guilt. After killing Duncan Macbeth says, “Ha! They pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood. Clean from my hand?” (2.2) After killing Duncan he became ashamed that he thought not even an ocean could clean his hands. The guilt is eating him up already. Another motif Shakespeare uses is sleep which represents evil. Macbeth states to the…

Words 229 - Pages 1

Blood Motif In Macbeth

idea etc. In Macbeth, blood is a very common motif. The word ‘blood’ appears 41 times in the play and it is used to continually remind the audience of how serious the character’s actions are. Real blood is seen in battles and murders, but the imaginary blood represents the guilt felt by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. After Duncan’s death, the guilt became more apparent and as they’re guilt grew, so did the importance of blood. The imaginary blood also represents Macbeth and Lady Macbeth losing their…

Words 196 - Pages 1

Use Of Blood In Macbeth

The use of blood throughout the play displays Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s attitude towards murder and how their attitudes are reversed throughout the play. Lady Macbeth states, “Go get some water, and wash this filthy witness from your hand” (Shakespeare 2.2.45-46). Initially, Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to carry out the murder. Demanding Macbeth to wash his hands of blood, Lady Macbeth insists that Macbeth accepts the murder and moves on. After accepting the death, Macbeth’s guilt slowly fades…

Words 175 - Pages 1

Blood: Macbeth and Shakespeare Play Macbeth Essay

emphasize some characteristics of a character. In Shakespeare play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the symbol blood to remind the characters the consequence of their actions. In Macbeth, Blood is symbolized to represent the guilt that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth felt throughout the play. In the play “Macbeth” Shakespeare symbolizes blood to show the progression of Lady Macbeths morals and conscious throughout the play. When Lady Macbeth first hears that the king was sleeping in her home, she found the perfect…

Words 440 - Pages 2

Examples Of Blood Imagery In Macbeth

Macbeth by William Shakespeare Blood imagery serves two purposes in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. It distinguishes between those who have might and those who rule by right. (Foakes 1) The following essay will show how the two patterns of imagery develop in the play. The foreboding qualities of blood are first alluded to in Act 1 when King Duncan asks of the messenger, "what bloody man is this?" The implied oath in the archaic use of the word "bloody" points to the unhallowed associations of blood…

Words 470 - Pages 2

Why Is Blood Important In Macbeth

of man in the universe. In Macbeth, a Shakespearean play, a great man is deemed the new Thane of Cawdor after a victorious battle with the former, rebellious title holder. Without Macbeth’s knowledge of the king’s decision, an encounter with three witches and a prophecy foreshadowing Macbeth’s future as King of Scotland compels him to take the throne. Through vaulting ambition and endless desire, Macbeth, with the accompaniment of his loyal yet deceitful wife, Lady Macbeth, attempts to accomplish his…

Words 1184 - Pages 5

Macbeth Blood Quotes Analysis

play, Macbeth, blood symbolizes guilt. Whenever a character does something horrible, they reference blood on their hands. The majority of the time blood is mentioned the character is hallucinating it. It is a sign of a guilty conscious. “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.” The first quote is from act 2 scene 2 line 63 and page 29. Macbeth is talking to Lady Macbeth right…

Words 516 - Pages 3

Examples Of Blood And Ambition In Macbeth

Blood and Ambition in Macbeth Everyone has dreams or goals of what they desire to do or become. The word ambition shows the strong determination to achieve objectives. Although ambition may sound positive, too much ambition can have poor consequences. Most often, blood represents immoral or unpleasant affairs and actions, as well as guilt and regret. In the 17th century tragedy Macbeth, Shakespeare uses blood to represent the monstrosity of actions, which reveals how strong ambition can result in…

Words 326 - Pages 2