Shakespeare uses the recurring symbol of blood to emphasize the effect of death and violence on the human psyche. The connotation that Macbeth associates with blood switches from a primary motivator to a guilty reminder. Prior to Duncan’s murder, Macbeth witnessed a floating dagger covered with blood (II.i.33). Macbeth had experienced violence and Blood is also used as a reminder of the guilt and trauma from the murder of King Duncan, the guards and Banquo. Macbeth refers to his hallucination of the ghost of Banquo: “It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood. (3.4. ?)” The association of blood to his murderous crimes is used to signify his dirty conscious. Blood is messy and can stain clothes similarly to how the repercussions of Macbeth’s actions have a lasting effect of his conscience. He is experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by reliving the horrors of confronting his actions. By seeing Banquo as a ghost, Macbeth believes that his acts have come to haunt him for revenge. The guests at the dinner party are confused by
Although introduced as a thoroughly hardened, ambitious woman, Lady Macbeth’s seemingly unbreakable character shatters when she is consumed by the demon of guilt. The guilt of Lady Macbeth seems nonexistent when she persuades Macbeth to kill King Duncan, but the heinous acts she and her husband commit throughout the play strain her slowly. Eventually, the guilt Lady Macbeth harbors emerges from her subconscious and crumbles her. The downfall of Lady Macbeth reveals that even the toughest, strongest, and most powerful people can succumb to guilt.
In Macbeth, blood is a symbol used to represent guilt and how one's guilt will cause them to act with concupiscence. If an individual feels guilty about an action they will do anything to try to make up for that action or clear their conscience. They may cross a line in which they never had thought of crossing before in order to fight their guilt. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth feels guilty about the many murders he has committed and his guilt has turned to paranoia. His paranoia is evident in his conversation with lady Macbeth about banquo when he says, “Come, seeling night, / Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day / And with thy bloody and invisible hand / Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond / Which keeps me pale” (Shakespeare 3.3.52-56). Macbeth's paranoia may cause him to act with concupiscence once again as he feels banquo is a threat and he will do anything to dispense the treat.
Shakespeare was one of the greatest writers of his time. Throughout his plays he constantly uses different metaphors and motifs to give a more detailed picture of the play to the reader. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, the motif of blood often represents guilt and courage.
William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth. It is considered one of its most powerful and darkest tragedies; the play dramatizes the psychological and political corrosive effects produced when evil is chosen as a way to satisfy the ambition for power. Macbeth tells a story of crime and punishment mixed with witchcraft. Covered in the deceitful prophecies of the Weird Sisters, Macbeth decides to assassinate his king and take the crown. Aware of the horror to which he surrenders, he forges his terrible destiny and believing himself invincible and eternal. Throughout the play blood is used as a way to show the evil intentions of not only Macbeth but other characters of the famous play, demonstrating their ambition, anger, and guilt.
As the play nears the end blood plays a less prevalent role in Macbeth’s character to represent that Macbeth’s morality is completely shot. He has nowhere to turn, he has a loss of all feeling, and his life has become completely meaningless. His wife has begun to sleepwalk saying, “What, will these hands neer be clean? Heres the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of / Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." (5.1.40, 46-47) The smell of blood, and the blood itself on Lady Macbeth’s hands exhibit her guilt over Duncan’s murder. Thus the guilt she feels for causing her husband to do horrible things and creating the guilty conscience her husband now posses. The hallucination of the blood on her hands and her extreme effort to wash it off shows
Themes are a huge representation in several stories as they deliver the truth and lesson about life. In Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, witches arrive and confess to Macbeth about his future of being King of Scotland. Macbeth becomes King of Scotland and murders masses of people to prevent them from taking his title so that he would remain as king forever. Blood is a relevant theme of this play as it runs throughout Shakespeare's story.
The natural man thrives to be in control, whether it be of himself, animals, or other people. Power is an addiction and addicts look for scenarios to be in charge to trigger the same amount of dopamine release in their brain that gives them pleasure. Throughout the centuries there has been numerous power-hungry leaders that corrupted millions of people to satisfy their personal cravings. Adolfus Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945, is a great example of corrupting government to pleasure his personal addiction with power. As the most famous dictator of the German Reich, Hitler began World War II in Europe by invading Poland in September 1939 and was the primary cause of the Holocaust. Up to six million Jewish people
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (2.2.27). In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the motif of blood and water represents the crime a person has committed and the “cleansing” of guilt. This motif reoccurs numerous times during the play and is best represent by Macbeth and his wife after they feel the guilt of their crimes. The first being the murder of Duncan, second being the murder of Banquo, and the third being Lady Macbeth’s repentance towards what she has done and what she has made Macbeth do. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses this motif of blood and water to emphasize the theme of the guilt people feel after they commit a horrible crime and how they try to “clean” it away. To add to this theme, Shakespeare has Macbeth
In Shakespeare's Macbeth imagery of blood represents man’s constant aspiration for authority, even at the cost of the well being of others. In Shakespeare's Macbeth a Scottish man by the name of Macbeth receives a prophecy from 3 mischievous witches that one day he will become King. Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then plagued with ongoing guilt which follows him throughout this novel. Macbeth's intense yearning for authority completely clouds his judgement and causes him to commit unspeakable acts.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth the main women struggle to cope with the circumstances they face in their lives. Both Lady Macbeth and Daisy Buchanan reveal their feelings of disillusionment through the alienation in their relationships, the murders that take place, and through their common desire to be at the top of the social order. Their actions have an impact on others but most importantly have consequences for themselves. This causes difficulty for both women to cope with the circumstances in their lives.
We all have done foul things in the past, things that we regret doing. We all have things that make us wish we could turn back time and stop ourselves. However, if we learn from our guilt, we can remain fair of heart. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth did not learn from their mistakes, but continues making them, until they found blood on their hands that would never wash off. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, blood is not just a symbol, but represents Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s opposing journeys from guilt and regret, to acceptance. After killing Duncan, Macbeth is feeling distraught and guilty, while Lady Macbeth is perfectly fine. As the story continues, Macbeth transitions from cracking under guilt to to feeling none at all, while Lady Macbeth’s guilt drives her insane.
Blood itself - its color, its smell, and its importance is critical to life and surprising to encounter. The constant appearance of blood in Macbeth constantly remind the audience about how serious the outcomes of the characters actions are. But almost incomparable to the importance of physical blood, is the imagined blood discovered throughout the play. Imaginary blood symbolizes guilt for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It's not until after the murder of Duncan that their guilt begins to clear up. As their guilt grows, so does the importance of the blood discovered throughout the story. Significantly, the imaginary blood also depicts how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both lose a grasp on sanity. Often stated throughout the play, is the fact that Lady
Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” explores a man’s fall from morality through committing the act of regicide, as well as ideas of guilt, greed and corruption. A motif of blood is used throughout the play to aid Shakespeare’s character development of Macbeth and it also facilitates further exploration of the figurative moral compass and culpability. Blood is used as a symbol and physical manifestation of guilt within characters throughout the play.
In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the continued use of blood in the plot of the play imply different definitions based on its context. Blood illuminates Macbeth’s righteous characteristics, but it also expresses Lady Macbeth’s ruthless plan to kill King Duncan. “Blood” changes from a sign of bravery to represent death and murder. These continuing shifts in definitions embody a world spiraling into bloodshed as Macbeth tries to become king. Shakespeare uses the word “blood” in Macbeth to show the contrasting characteristics of the Macbeths.