Significance Of Blood In Macbeth

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Pages: 3
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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 the concept of the heavens being impacted by Macbeth’s savage crusades, blood is mentioned to aid his description of the violent setting in which he lives. An additional implication lies in the usage of the word “threaten”. Ross could be …show more content…
“make thick my blood; / Stop up the access and passage to remorse" (1.5.43-44). Lady Macbeth, cognizant of possible mental weaknesses which may plague her, is plotting to murder King Duncan without regrets. In this sense, blood represents her toughness and resistance to weak emotions.
In a different scenario but similar concept, Macbeth speaks of blood as the essence of the lifeline of a family. “The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood / Is stopp'd; the very source of it is stopp'd" (2.3.98-99).” Macbeth is informing Malcolm and Donalbain of their father’s murder, and uses blood to illustrate the gravity of what had happened. Once again, blood is not described in its literal sense, but in a figurative fashion in order to speak to the emotions of those who would be assisted in understanding the significance of certain events or concepts.
As illustrated by these quotes, the image of blood in Shakespeare rarely alludes to the scientific aspect of blood. Instead, it is used as a tool to enhance parts of the story, and expounds the emotions characters feel, as well as presenting their philosophies. Despite originally being a bodily fluid, its importance in Macbeth lies in its symbolic
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