Motifs And Motifs In Macbeth

In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses many motifs and symbols to help develop the theme. The most effective symbols and motifs that Shakespeare uses are the birds, blood, and sleep.

In Macbeth, birds are mentioned many times. "The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan / Under my battlements" (1.5.38-40). The quote displays that the raven has a raspy voice from repeatedly saying that King Duncan will die. This is important because ravens are usually viewed as a low and ghoulish species which foreshadows that something bad could happen to King Duncan. Later on in the play it states “On Tuesday last / A falcon, towering in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd" (2.4.11-13). This shows an owl killed a falcon and can be interpreted as Macbeth being the owl and killing Duncan who is the falcon. The use of birds are an effective motif that foreshadows some future events.

Another effective motif that was present in Macbeth was blood. In Act 5, Lady Macbeth says “Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why, then,

"Eat our meal in fear and sleep / In the affliction of these terrible dreams / That shake us nightly" (3.2.17-19). This depicts that Macbeth is fearful, paranoid, and plagued with nightmares that will eventually lead him towards insanity. Additionally, in Act 5 it says "Rise from her bed, throw her night-gown upon her, unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon't, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed; yet all this while in a most fast sleep" (5.1.5-7). The motif is also effective in the quote because Lady Macbeth is acting like she is awake when she is actually asleep. As a result, she is slowly going crazy due to her sleepwalking and not getting enough of peaceful sleep. Moreover, in reality, lack of sleep can cause insanity which further reinforces the idea of sleep effectively symbolizing insanity and