How Does Shakespeare Use Blood Imagery In Macbeth

In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, many motifs are used to accentuate many different themes in the text. These themes are used to further the meaning of the play, as well as to give another definition to the characters in it. Macbeth is a highly ranked military general who is very brave and courageous. In the beginning of the play, three witches come to Macbeth and tell him a prophecy, which tells him that he is destined to become king. Macbeth trusts this prophecy and goes on a tyrannical rampage to become king. Blood is one of many motifs that Shakespeare constantly uses to accentuate many ideas which occur in the play. Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare utilizes blood in order to demonstrate that even if someone is not caught for an immoral action, the guilt they feel and the liability they experience will still punish them.

             Lady Macbeth is most noticeably affected by the image of blood; she began making references to it even before the murder of Duncan.  In her pleading to the spirits, Lady Macbeth prays, "Make thick my blood" (I.v.43) in order that she may not feel any "remorse" for the course of action she plans for her husband and herself.  Lady Macbeth sees her thin blood as a weakness in her character and wishes it to be richer (thicker)

Macbeth is the ultimate story of a fight between the forces of good and evil. It tells the tale of a tragic hero whose quest for power leads to his ultimate downfall. Macbeth starts out as an honorable warrior but changes when his ambition becomes uncontrollable. As he becomes increasingly paranoid, Macbeth uses violent means to eliminate threats to his Scottish throne. As the play progresses, blood continuously plays a part in the events as the murders become more frequent. William Shakespeare, the author of Macbeth, uses blood imagery to develop Macbeth’s character, create a foil in between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and to symbolize honor and guilt.

Lady Macbeth’s strength of will persists through the murder of King Duncan as it is she who tries to calm Macbeth after committing the crime by declaring confidently that, “a little water clears us of this deed,” (2.2.67). Afterward, however, Lady Macbeth’s strong and ambitious character begins to deteriorate into madness. Her first sign of weakness occurred when she confessed that she could not have killed the king, revealing a natural woman’s feelings, “had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t” (2.2.13-14). Just as ambition has affected her before more so then Macbeth before the crime, the guilt plagues her now more effectively afterward as she desperately tried to wash away the invisible blood from her sin, “Here’s the smell of the blood still: all the perfume of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand,” (5.1.48-49). Lady Macbeth’s

William Shakespeare uses different techniques to increase the excitement and intensity in his plays. Macbeth is the dramatic play written by William Shakespeare has many good examples of imagery, especially that of blood. William Shakespeare’s play about Macbeth is a story of ambition and intrigue. The ambition creates actions that lead to the breakdown of the main character and which drove

     The longest running tradition in medicine, bloodletting, was a widely accepted practice with a three-thousand year-old history from the ancient Egyptians to the late 19th century. At that time, physicians thought that disease was a curse caused by the supernatural. It was a common idea that blood carried the vital force of the body and was the seat of the soul. Anything from body weaknesses to insanity were attributed to a defect in this vital fluid. Bloodletting was a method for balancing other fluids in the body and cleansing it of impurities. Shakespeare takes the same knowledge of blood and applies it to “Macbeth” in which the connotations not only foretell one’s glory but also one’s guilt.

Act 5, Scene 1 is the famous sleepwalking scene. While Lady MacBeth is sleepwalking she makes many references to the evil deeds that Macbeth and herself have committed, most of which include references to blood. In Act 5, Scene 1, Line 31, She goes through the motions of washing her hands saying "Out damned spot! Out, I say" in reference to the blood that stained her hands after smearing it all over the servants after assisting MacBeth in the treasonous murder of MacBeth. This also represents her guilt of the murder. In Act 5, Scene 1, Line 38 she makes another reference to the guilt saying, "What, will these hands ne'er be clean?" The last reference she makes to the blood being on her hands representing her guilt is in Act 5, Scene 1, Lines 44-45, "Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this hand." All these references are to murder, death, treason, and guilt.

However, Lady Macbeth’s conscious shines through as she is not able to kill a poor vulnerable man who looks like her father. She is thrown off guard be her reaction to Duncan’s face. She does not expect to feel any remorse toward the old man but she does. After Macbeth kills Duncan, Lady Macbeth regains her cruel nature and quickly takes the dagger from him to frame the guards, “Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, / I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal, / For it must seem their guilt.”(68-72). Lady Macbeth shows no remorse or respect for the dead. Lady Macbeth cannot let her remorse control her because she knows that the only way to bring about the prophecy is to frame the guards. Lady Macbeth unsuccessfully attempts to block out the horrendous deeds she commits. The compassion Lady Macbeth shows for Duncan proves that the spirits did not remove her soul or kill her conscious, which will be her Achilles heel and lead to her death.

“I am in blood/ Stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more/ returning were as tedious as go’er”(III. v. 136-138). From history, one can learn that spilling blood is never the answer. Blood has the incredible power to shape one’s thoughts, actions and life. It begins life, when in the body it is essential for maintaining life, but once spilt, it can end life. Blood embodies several meanings which can be both good and bad. In some cases, it can represent bravery and nobility, but, more often, it is linked to betrayal, corruption, evil ambitions, and revenge, which can result in the abandonment of one’s morals. Ultimately, failure to learn lessons from personal experiences or “spilling blood” results in negative consequences.

She continues to "wash" her hands till she is intruded by the memory of summon that she herself called upon her husband to the murder of King Duncan: “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. 35-40). Lady Macbeth thought once that her husband is a king, so it wouldn't trouble who knew that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth assassinated King Duncan, because no one would be able to test Macbeth's power as king. The old man in quote reminds her of her guilt. His blood is chasing her in alternative

Before Duncan’s murder, Macbeth imagines that he sees a dagger floating in the air in front of him. (“And on thy blade and dungeon, gouts of blood, which was not so before. There’s no such thing: it is the bloody business which informs thus to mine eyes.” (Act 2 scene 1 lines 46-49). The blood imagery here refers to murder, ambition, and betrayal. This is a totally different meaning than earlier in the play. Before, blood was seen as a positive thing. Now, it is associated with evil. It also shows Macbeth’s transformation from a person of honesty, nobility, and bravery to an evil, deceitful person. After Macbeth murders Duncan, he starts to see how severe his crime was and tries to wash Duncan’s blood off his hands. (“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.”) Act 2 scene 2 lines 60-63. This shows that Macbeth’s character is starting to get weaker because of his crime. The blood does not represent a feeling of ambition; it now represents remorse, and guilt. Macbeth is so upset and says that not even all the water in the ocean will wash the blood off his hands. Duncan was a kind generous man and he had no

Lady Macbeth starts this off when she asks the spirits to "make thick [her] blood"(1.5.50). What she is saying by this, is that she wants to make herself insensitive and remorseless for the deed she is hoping to commit. However, she forces Macbeth to do the deed. Right before killing Duncan, Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air leading him to Duncan?s room and he sees "on the blade and dudgeon gouts of blood"(2.1.58), indicating that the knife has been viciously stabbed into someone. This is a Lady Macbeth knows that the evidence of blood is a treacherous symbol, and knows it will deflect the guilt from her and Macbeth to the servants when she says "If he do bleed, I?ll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt"(2.2.71-73).

Madeline Jeffrey Mr. Prancic ENG 2D0 Tuesday, November 21, 2017 Innocent VS Evil In Act 2 Scene 2 of the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have differing reactions to the sight of King Duncan’s blood. First, during a conversation immediately following the murder, Macbeth is losing his composure while Lady Macbeth ridicules him. Next, Shakespeare provides a visual imagery displaying how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth react to the blood smeared on their hands. The blood represents guilt. Finally, while trying to rid themselves of the blood on their hands, Macbeth fears that it may never be removed while Lady Macbeth simply washes her hands. Therefore, Macbeth reacts with the blood by panicking, whereas Lady Macbeth

The second representation of blood as aforementioned, is that of betrayal. Lady Macbeth initiates this theme when she utters the words, "make thick my blood", before helping to frame the guards for the murder of Duncan.  The notion of making ones blood thick attempts to communicate how Lady Macbeth wants to become remorseless and insensitive.  However the irony is established since she also feels guilty and trepidation for the crime of treason she is about to commit.  Lady Macbeth understands that the symbolic of use of blood is treacherous and if she places Duncan's blood on the guards the blame will be diverted from Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. We are told this by the following lines, "smear the sleepy grooms with blood. If he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt."

Lady Macbeth commands the spirits to make her blood thick (1.5.43-44) for the reason that she does not want to feel remorse for the atrocious deeds she will carry out. Blood is on the hands of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth when they are most responsible of crimes, specifically murder. Before and after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is so overcome with guilt, he is unable to think clearly. Prior to the murder, Macbeth sees a dagger, then blood appears on the blade. This is the first time Macbeth feels ashamed. Following the crime, he looks at his blood covered hands, and remarks that they are a sorry sight (2.2.18). He is marked both figuratively and literally with blood. Lady Macbeth considers him as cowardice to make such a deal over a little blood, and tells him that her hands are the same color as his, yet she is ashamed to