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. The motif of blood helps Shakespeare highlight the guilt experienced by the characters in the play. Moreover, Macbeth was one of the first characters to feel a great deal of guilt in the play. An instance in which Macbeth's guilt showed through was when he said, “A dagger of the mind, a false creation,... I see thee still, and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood”(II,I) Macbeth makes this statement to his wife after killing Duncan, because he still feels remorse for his actions. To continue, he has the impression that there are daggers covered in blood haunting him constantly reminding him of his actions. Furthermore, a character that felt an abundance of guilt was Lady Macbeth. After killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth was haunted by the sight of blood. This is evident when it is stated, “It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus washing her hands: I have known her continue in this quarter of an hour”(V,I). Moreover, after killing …show more content…
Furthermore, throughout the play this motif is used to help give a better description of how the character feels, such as when Lady Macbeth states, “And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood”(I,IV). In this quote, Lady Macbeth is wishing to have “thick blood” like a man so she can have the bravery to kill Duncan. Another example is in the second apparition when it is said, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth.” (IV,I)Furthermore, this apparition refers to Macbeth and how he needs to be fearless and strong, because no one can harm him. To conclude blood often symbolizes courage and
Firstly Macbeth said to Lady Macbeth when he told her that he is planning a scheme: "I am in blood / Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er" (3.4.135-136). Macbeth has committed too much crime that trying to find a way to stop and redeem himself will be just as hard as continue on his path of killing and crimes. In this scene blood represent guilt and violence.
All of which led to the Macbeth’s hallucinations, death streak and paranoia. Overall, Macbeth shows that committing unruly and harsh crimes lead to life full of fear and its effects often lead to one’s downfall. Quotes and symbols The first quote that this art piece refers to is: “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?
In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, literary symbols or motifs such as blood play a significant role. Throughout the play, blood feeds off of a strong case of corrupt ambition and symbolizes guilt, blame and destruction. No matter how strong or thick one’s blood is, actions prove to be permanent and have serious side effects such as a haunting guilt marked by Macbeth’s crimson blood. Shortly after discovering that Macbeth is in line to be King, he and his wife Lady Macbeth devise a plan to murder and remove the incumbent King Duncan from his throne to open up the position. However, as soon as Macbeth commits the fatal murder, he is exasperated by his actions evidently as he yelps, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?
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
William Shakespeare uses a total of six motifs in The Tragedy of Macbeth, but three of the six motifs were used significantly. For example; the Natural World, the Blood and the occurrences of supernatural tendencies is presented more than the other three which are; The juxtaposition between Light and Dark, Sleep and Paradox. Shakespeare is known for his poems to contain; life, love, death, revenge, grief, jealousy, murder and mystery. So, therefore, the motifs he presents gives an insight of the style of writing Shakespeare chooses to use. All in which presents a message to the reader.
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 /
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 The Tragedy of Macbeth, the theme of power emphasizes the motif of blood. The blood motif focuses on almost every character throughout the play. It beings with the prophecy of three witches that tell Macbeth that he will become king of Scotland. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s thirst for power results in the murder of King Duncan and crowing of Macbeth. The prophecies of the witches, and later the apparitions, encourage Macbeth to murder his friend, Banquo, because his sons were destined to become future kings.
In the past scene Macbeth is being hesitant in going through with the assassination of King Duncan. Macbeth has a moment where he talks to himself after he sees a floating dagger and says “Is this a dagger which I see before me/ The handle toward my hand?/Come, let me clutch thee./I have thee not, and yet I see thee still./Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible/ To feeling as to sight?or art thou but/A dagger of the mind, a false creation,/Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?.” (II.I, 44-49).
Another example of a character feeling guilt after committing a sin is Lady Macbeth when she starts to talk in her sleep as a gentlewoman and a doctor watches her, “Out, damned spot! out, I say! / --One: two: why, then, / 'tis time to do't” (5.1.35-40). Lady Macbeth does not show guilt while she is conscious and awake, but it is quite evident that she truly does feel a great amount of guilt after the murder of Duncan. As she screams, “Out damned spot”, she rubs her hands together, showing that she is trying to rub the spots of blood from her hands.
lood proclaims Macbeth’s feelings about murder. Blood as an imagery pattern in this book uncoveres the apprehensiveness of Macbeth right before he kills Duncan. Specifcally, Macbeth hallucintes a dagger (sword) floating before him, showing him towards Duncan’s room, And on thy blade and dudegeon gouts of blood” Macbeth is certainly worried and hesitant about the murder he is about to commit. He sense the horrible deed he is about to commit.
Lady Macbeth has just greeted her husband after he killed Duncan. Macbeth is horrified of what he has done and left a mess behind for Lady Macbeth to clean up. She tells him to wash his hands of Duncan’s blood as she goes and plants the evidence on the soldiers. Though there is no symbolism in these lines this is the line showing relation between guilt and
Imagery in Macbeth Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare in 1606. This tragedy is set in Scotland during The Middle Ages. Published in 1623 with the first folio, the story of Macbeth was destined to be a staple in any reader’s Shakespeare collection.
Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to highlight the theme of punishment, where the effects of violence and wrongdoing have the greatest influence on those who committed such actions. Macbeth’s marriage is one of contradicting roles where he often takes the backseat, allowing Lady Macbeth to lead. His inability to take action gives Lady Macbeth many opportunities to persuade him into making risky decisions, namely killing the king. Macbeth, shocked with his own actions and flowing with remorseful thoughts, pleads for the “all great Neptune’s ocean [to] wash [the] blood/ Clean from [his] hand,” (59). Despite coming to terms with his actions, the image of King Duncan lying dead with “his silver skin laced with his golden blood,” (69) saturates
Blood is known as the fluid circulates in the principle vascular system of human beings and other vertebrates, also it has another denotation of the vital principle and life. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, literal blood drips from nearly every page as it appears 41 times throughout the whole play in order to explore further meaning of it. Macbeth, the main character in the book spends half of his life on suspecting, murdering in order to maintain the throne and power. His extreme ambition takes him to the high status and also kills him in the end. Along with the slight happiness of being the new king, the guilt and sin grows rapidly in his mind and even drives him crazy.