Lucas Lettie Presuto British Literature 5 April 26th 2023 An Eye for an Eye An eye for an eye, the punishment fits the crime, blood for blood. For hundreds of years these ideas have echoed through society. Within real life crime, jailing, and especially in literature. These phrases ring true for the readers of William Shakespere’s Macbeth, who view this story warning about the consequences of one's own actions. Within William Shakespere’s Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to craft a cautionary tale about Macbeth’s corrupt power and the never ending guilt of Lady Macbeth. The image and overall perception of Macbeth within the play truly embodies the idea of the phrase absolute power …show more content…
As the play states, “ For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name),/ Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,/ Which smoked with bloody execution,/ Like Valor’s minion, carved out his passage/ Till he faced the slave;” ( 1, 2, 17-22). In this instance, Macbeth's bloodshed and violence is regarded as an act of bravery. Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a noble human being and acts almost as the executioner but his morality and social standing changes him. It portrays him as the person, who involves themselves with what society believes as the good of humanity. Under the command of a king, Macbeth doesn’t have that much authority or power. In the event he does someone else’s bidding, there isn’t as much discourse. Society under the king sees him as doing a public service, or compares him to a soldier. This completely contrasts to how Macduff and the rest of the land see Macbeth at the end of the play. As the text proclaims, “ Macbeth)Of all men else I have avoided thee./ But get thee back. /My soul is too much/charged With blood of thine already./ I have no words;/ (Macduff)My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain/ Than terms can give thee out.” (5, 8, 4-10) Here, Macbeth’s …show more content…
Her dark deeds will haunt her and hang over her head until death. This first begins after Macbeth brings down the knives, “ My hands are of your color, but I shame/ To wear a heart so white./ I hear a knocking/ At the south entry. Retire us to our chamber./ A little water clears us of this deed./ How easy is it, then! Your constancy/ Hath left you unattended” (2,2, 82-87). Lady Macbeth now has metaphorical and physical blood on her hands. Originally, she just knew about the murder of Duncan, but actively assisting Macbeth and encouraging it, makes her just as guilty. Her morals and ethics have now been forever tainted by the crimes that she and Macbeth have done. Her naivety, and ignorance leads her to believe that they will never get caught, and things will get better for them. She thinks that just a little water and a goodnight sleep will wash the blood away. But As she learns, the blood on her hands, and the guilt that follows her never truly goes away. This comes to a climax when she gets caught sleep walking, “Out, damned spot, out, I say! One. Two. /Why then, ’tis time to do ’t.Hell is murky. Fie, my/ lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear/ who knows it, when none can call our power to /account? Yet who would have thought the old man/ to have had so much blood in him?” (5,1,37-42) In this moment, her paranoia
This stage comes once Macbeth realises he cannot escape his humane nature, shrouding him with a cloak of helplessness and shame. He looks down upon himself with an air of disgust following his description of his soul when using the word “piteous” (26). Macbeth starts to notice the differences between him and his cruel wife and recognises that these differences “push [them] further apart” (28). This stanza focuses more on imagery and inciting emotions within the reader because, unlike denial, anger, and bargaining, depression is not an emotion that can be expressed through words alone. It describes the physical pain and “tender[ness]” that follows such a state of mind (23).
This scene features Lady Macbeth speaking to herself; expressing her thoughts out loud. She speaks of killing Duncan: “The raven himself is hoarse/ That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan” (45-46). She then calls upon the spirits to assist her in murder (47-51). Shakespeare uses words with negative connotations, such as “hoarse”, “croaks”, “cruelty”, and “blood” (45-50).
Violent acts driven by ambition can lead to self-destruction and cruel consequences. In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, the main character Macbeth is ambitious and greedy for power. In order to achieve the title of king, he commits violent acts, such as murdering the king and his friend, that eventually end in guilt and strange events occurring. Using violence, Shakespeare demonstrates the consequences of unnatural actions. Through Macbeth and his actions, Shakespeare uses the word blood to illustrate how violent acts can lead to overpowering guilt and unnatural consequences which counteract the violence.
Out, I say!” (Shakespeare 172). Lady Macbeth tries to rub her her sins and yearns for innocence but she fails to regain it. Macbeth also in a similar state asks “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (Shakespeare 72).
Again mocking him by saying only children are scared of paintings. After the murder of King Duncan, “My hands are of your colour, but I shame To wear a heart so white” (2.2.80-81). By saying his heart was white Lady Macbeth says this to mock Macbeth by calling him weak and a coward. Shortly after she says “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.85). The deed is representing the guilt of the murder, and Lady Macbeth believes it will only take a little bit of time for the guilt to
In the play “Macbeth,” William Shakespeare incorporates the role of blood to illustrate the changes Macbeth’s character undertakes throughout the play. The imagery of blood is used to represent honor and leads to one’s guilty conscience. Although it sometimes accompanies honorable acts, throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare uses blood to portray guilt and the desire for power. The imagery of blood is repeatedly used to symbolize honor and guilt, throughout the play.
Thesis: In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, the ambitious protagonist degrades his relation to his conscience as he pursues unrivaled power, driving himself mad, mirroring the moral and physical decay plaguing Scotland. Topic Sentence 1: In Acts 1 and 2, the guilt-ridden Macbeth indecisively entertains the idea of regicide, torn between his discernment and vaulting ambition. EV1: “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man That function is smother’d in surmise, And nothing is but what is not” (1.3.138-141) EV2: “He’s here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject–strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door Not bear the knife myself”
Macbeth" delves into the destructive consequences of unchecked ambition, culminating in a cycle of violence perpetuated by the pursuit of power. Through these works, we are reminded of the devastating impact of violence and revenge on individuals and society as a whole. These themes serve as cautionary reminders of the destructive forces
Macbeth indicates his guilt when he say’s "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?”(2,2,61-62). He’s meaning if he would ever be able to forget about the deed that he has committed of killing the kind of Scotland Duncan. He also is saying that even the entire ocean could wash his hands clean of the blood. Macbeth feels that what he has done was wrong and shameful.
Still stuck in her illusion, Lady Macbeth gets her husband to kill Duncan, and helps clean up the mess. Her hands and heart are now stained red. However, she believes that “a little water clears [them] of [their] deed.” (II, ii, 85) In her attempt to disregard the human condition, she ends up floating even further away from the ground.
yet who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him” (5.1.36). Lady Macbeth feels as if she can not be mentally cleansed until her hands are. Lady Macbeth's failure to relieve the guilt causes her to commit suicide. “The queen, my lord, is dead… she should have died hereafter” (5.5.20). Lady Macbeth had too much guilt to deal with which is why she needed to be in peace.
Lady Macbeth loses her ferocity and violence, and unstably attempts to hold herself together. Obviously, after killing King Duncan, the tragic effects of the deed hit her at a later time than Macbeth. While Macbeth lost his composure, it was his wife who reassured him of how a little water clears us of this deed. Soon enough afterwards, Lady Macbeths sleepwalks in regret and guilt, yelping out 'out, damned spot!' The woman who gave Macbeth all her ungoverned passion and lessons in violence is now perished into a despaired mess.
Continuing on with Macbeth’s reign and violent actions, he decides he had another enemy to look out for, Macduff. “From this moment the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand. And even now, to crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done: the castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.” (4.1.161-168); In this quote, he talks about when he decides to do something, he will act upon it immediately. Acting upon that, he decides to kill Macduff’s wife and children and anyone who dares to stand in the way.
Lady Macbeth then takes the daggers from him to finish the job, and Macbeth asks himself, "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" (2. 2. 57-60.). Macbeth believes if he were to wash his hands in the ocean, the blood would turn the water red rather than cleanse his hands of the blood. As seen in the scene, the sight of blood makes Macbeth more fearful of what he is done but, in contrast, Lady Macbeth believes "a little water clears us of this deed" (2. 2. 64.) and does not feel remorse.
Murder's Impact: Empathy and Blood in Macbeth Throughout the play “Macbeth”, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s characters change as a result of murder and the trauma of bloodshed. Lady Macbeth thinks she can turn off her conscience and convince her husband to kill Duncan, which results in her crippling guilt and insanity. Macbeth feels no remorse of this kind, and instead fears the consequences, consistently referencing his safety. As the play progresses, we see examples of blood being used to communicate the guilt and remorse Lady Macbeth feels.