blood imagery macbeth essay

William Shakespeare

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Blood Quotes in Macbeth

Blood Symbol Timeline in Macbeth

William Shakespeare

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Critical Essays Major Symbols and Motifs

Explore the different symbols within William Shakespeare's tragic play, Macbeth . Symbols are central to understanding Macbeth as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary.

Throughout Shakespeare's Macbeth , the weather plays an important role. The rebelling nature of wind and lightning indicates the disruption within the natural order of society. It makes it seem as if the weather is upset with Macbeth 's actions. In many Shakespearean plays — including this one — rebelling nature shows a departure from accepted political and moral order.

Blood itself — the color, the smell, and importance — is vital to life and shocking to see. The constant presence of blood in Macbeth repeatedly reminds the audience about how serious the consequences of the characters actions are. But almost surpassing the importance of physical blood is the imagined blood found throughout the play. Imaginary blood represents guilt for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth . It's not until after the murder of Duncan that their guilt begins to manifest. As their guilt grows, so does the importance of the blood.

What's more, the imaginary blood also shows how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both lose a grasp on reality. Often quoted is the fact that Lady Macbeth cannot get the imagined blood off her hands nor can her husband. Their guilt is all consuming and inescapable. The imagined blood haunts both characters, following them until their death.

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Blood as an Indicator: Carnage, Imagery, and Character Development in 'Macbeth' Kaitlyn Barkley College

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is filled to the brim with images of various sorts from nature to darkness to blood. It is near impossible to read a page from the script without coming across imagery of some kind or another. Because his writing seems so deliberate, it becomes possible to read into the imagery to discern what Shakespeare might have been trying to imply about his characters. The imagery of blood in Macbeth is indicative of the characters’ attitudes towards the heinous acts that they commit.

Imagery of blood is in abundance in Macbeth . It is present in thirty-nine lines that spread across all five acts (Open). In the second scene of the first act, there are two references to blood. “What bloody man is that?” (King 1.2.1) and “For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name- \ Disdaining Fortune with his brandished steel, \ Which smoked with bloody execution” (Captain 1.2.18-20). Both of these quotes are talking about Macbeth who was an incredible soldier. The blood imagery continues throughout the play. In Act 3, Macbeth says, “Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold” (3.4.96). Macbeth says this to the ghost of Banquo who had just been murdered at Macbeth’s order. The imagery of blood is even present in the final...

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Essay on Examples Of Blood Imagery In Macbeth

Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s tragedies from the early 1600’s. Macbeth, once a nobleman who was the epitome of loyalty takes a turn and is overcome by ambition which can be attributed to the witches and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth rises to power but covered in blood. A major theme throughout the play of Macbeth is if a person commits an evil crime such as murder, he or she is incapable of fully escaping the sins and guilt that come with such actions. Throughout Macbeth, blood is a prominent image that enhances this theme throughout the play, ultimately demonstrating how a person can be stained from heir sin and eventually their guilt .

Early in the play, blood appears when Macbeth murders Duncan . When Macbeth murders Duncan he is stained by Duncan’s blood resulting in guilt. Macbeth declares, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hands? No, this my hand will rather/ The multitudinous seas incarnadine/ Making the green on red” (II. ii. 64-67). No matter how much Macbeth washes his hands he will be forever stained with Duncan’s blood, as his guilt will never be able to wash away due to his sinful actions.

While Macbeth gets blood on his hands, Lady Macbeth gets Duncan’s blood on her hands as well when he ultimately decides to frame the servants for the murder. While Macbeth visibly suffers a great deal of guilt from murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth shows no signs of suffering from guilt. Lady Macbeth displays her lack of guilt when she states, “My hands are of your color, but I shame/ To wear a heart so white” (II. ii. 68-69). Lady Macbeth does not recognize the harm she causes through her and her husbands sins.

The text, “The Necessary Shakespeare” by David Bevington, he declares, “She has failed to foresee the long-range consequences of sinful ambition and so becomes a temptress to her husband. The fall f man and woman into the bondage of sin takes places in an incongruous atmosphere of domestic intimacy and mutual concern; Lady Macbeth is motivated by ambition for her husband in much the same way that he sins to win her approbation” (Bevington, 712). Macbeth is seeking approval from Lady Macbeth but in order to win her approval he must shed blood of others resulting in him being overcome by blood (guilt).

The symbol of blood, everything from the idea of it to the color of it, is utilized throughout the play to symbolize the guilt and shame for those who act in ways that result in other humans blood being shed which is demonstrated by Lady Macbeth and Macbeth throughout the play. Later in the play, blood (guilt) does not escape Macbeth as he decides to hire murderers to kill Banquo. Macbeth states, “Both sides are even. Here l’ll sit i’th’ midst. / Be larger in mirth; anon we’ll drink a measure/ The table round . There’s/ blood upon thy face” (III. v. 10-13). Upon the murderers telling Macbeth that the deed of killing Banquo is done, Macbeth is overcome by his guilt again as the blood is splashed across his face.

After Macbeth declared blood has spilled upon his face, the Murderer exclaims, “My lord, his throat is cut. That I did for him” (III. iv. 16). The wickedness of such deed is apparent, and the blood on the face is another sign of his wrongdoing. Further, Banquo’s ghost appears in the same scene. Macbeth states, “Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake/ Thy gory locks at me” (III. v. 50-51). Macbeth did not murder Banquo with his own hands but he is still overcome with great guilt. Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost and the wounds that Banquo suffered due to the murderers and this adds even more to his feeling of guilt. As more blood is shed, Macbeth finds himself in a deeper hole of never ending guilt. Macbeth exclaims, “It will have blood, they say; blood will have lood” (III. iv. 123). Macbeth is met with the realization that through his murderous actions his sins will be exposed and he will be unable to escape his guilt.

Act III scene 4 concludes with Macbeth declaring, “I am in blood/ Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er. / Strange things I have in head, that will to hand, / Which must be acted ere they may be scanned” (III. iv. 137-147). Overall, Macbeth is incapable of undoing his murderous actions and cannot escape or return from his guilt and sins. Further, in act five of the play Lady Macbeth has become nsane which develops the overriding image of blood in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth starts sleepwalking in the night and performing actions she associates with her guilt.

One of the actions she performs while sleep walking is washing her hands, which can be related back to when her hands were stained with Duncan’s blood. Next, she starts talking to herself while she washes the imaginary blood spots from her sinful hands. This moment is representative of how her sinful actions can never be washed away and she will ultimately carry around her guilt for engaging in bloody deeds. Lady Macbeth exclaims, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! ” (V. i. 34) Early in the play, Lady Macbeth shamed Macbeth for believing not even a ocean could wash away the blood on his hands.

Lady Macbeth’s sins eventually caught up to her and she finds her conscience covered in blood and is incapable of washing her hands clean of her sins. Further, Lady Macbeth states, “Here’s the smell of the blood still. All/ the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little/ hand. Oh, oh, oh! ” (V. i. 49-52) No amount of perfume can cover her actions thus resulting in her hands being tainted by her bloody acts of murder. Overall, Lady Macbeth can not fend off the sensation of uilt. Throughout the play there is a pattern of blood. At the beginning there is no mention or images of blood until Duncan’s murder.

In David Artman’s essay, “Blood Imagery in Macbeth”, he states, “A pattern established in Macbeth is that after each murder there is an abundance of blood imagery. ” Blood provides a pace to the action in the play. The play utilizes the image of blood after Duncan’s death and becomes filled with bloody images that display Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s guilt for their sinful actions. Artman declares, ” Blood imagery, by setting the tone, pacing the wave of action, and characterizing he nature of the death and killings works to unify the action within the play.

Artman’s essay makes a reader go back and look at the action of the play and how the images of blood shed made the pacing of the play very nice. Rereading the play after reading Artman’s essay allows for the reader to fully comprehend how blood was of great prominence in the play and created suspense for readers. In the beginning of the play literal images of blood are displayed and then eventually hallucinations of blood come forth thus adding another facet of bloody imagery, which ultimately carries more weight than the ctual blood.

The imaginary blood adds to the play and enhances the theme of the play that if a person murder’s they cannot be easily unshackled from their sins and guilt. In conclusion, blood is an overriding image throughout the play Macbeth and intensifies the theme that a person is incapable of escaping murderous deeds unmarked themselves. In the text, “The Necessary Shakespeare” by David Bevington, he declares, “Blood is not only a literal sign of disorder but an emblem of Macbeth’s remorseless butchery, A “damned spot” on conscience, and a promise of divine vengeance” (Bevington, 713).

Bloodshed of another human in a hateful manner ultimately scars the mind of those that have acted in a sinful manner and cannot be resolved as easily as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth would have liked. While the presence of actual blood in the play serves as a reminder of the consequences of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s actions the blood that is seen throughout the hallucinations enhances the importance of the symbol of blood in Macbeth. Overall, as the image of blood continues to grow throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth lose their sense of reality and are consumed by the image of blood until their deaths.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Macbeth — The Use of Imagery in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Analysis of Shakespeare's Use of Imagery in Macbeth

• Categories: Macbeth Macbeth Guilt

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Published: Nov 22, 2018

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Macbeth imagery (essay), the use of imagery in shakespeare's macbeth.

• Roychoudhury, Suparna. “Melancholy, Ecstasy, Phantasma: The Pathologies of Macbeth.” Modern Philology 111, no. 2 (2013): 205–30. (https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/673309?journalCode=mp)
• Ghanooni, A. R. (2014). A cross-cultural study of metaphoric imagery in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Translation and Interpreting Studies. The Journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association, 9(2), 239-256. (https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/tis.9.2.05gha)
• Muir, K. (2015). Image and symbol in Macbeth. In Macbeth (pp. 337-351). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315709277-21/image-symbol-macbeth-kenneth-muir)
• Hughes, H. Y. (1959). THE UNITY OF'MACBETH': A STUDY OF THEMATIC IMAGERY. University of Arkansas. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/26fe98baebf38f83d77e23da1d9b4883/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y)
• Thompson, A., & Thompson, J. O. (1991). Sight Unseen: Problems with ‘Imagery’in Macbeth. Towards A Definition of Topos: Approaches to Analogical Reasoning, 45-65. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-11502-0_3)

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Macbeth – The Use Of Blood Imagery

The theme of blood is a crucial part of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with the word and its variations appearing approximately 42 times throughout the play. Blood is used both literally and figuratively to highlight the changing nature of the characters and to make the play more realistic and engaging. Initially, blood symbolises the honour, bravery, and valour associated with war. However, it soon becomes associated with treachery and treason, as Lady Macbeth asks for her blood to be thickened to allow her to participate in the murder of King Duncan without emotion. After the murder, blood becomes a symbol of guilt, with Lady Macbeth unable to wash the blood from her hands and eventually driven to insanity and suicide. Macbeth also struggles with his guilt, suppressing it until the end of the play when he admits his wrongdoing to Macduff. The cycle of blood imagery ultimately reflects the downfall of Macbeth, from honourable to treacherous to guilty to killed by the honourable Macduff. The use of blood and its various connotations adds to the realism and effectiveness of the play.

Throughout the course of Macbeth, the word “blood” and its variations are utilized around 42 times. It is evident that the playwright considered blood to be a crucial element in the development of Macbeth, as depicted through an extensive use of imagery. However, this excessive utilization does not diminish its significance.

The recurring use of blood in the play qualifies it as a highly significant theme. Shakespeare cleverly employs both literal and figurative representations of blood to enhance the play’s realism and captivate the audience. Moreover, for discerning minds, it serves as a tool to portray the evolving traits of the characters. To delve deeper into this, blood initially symbolizes the qualities of honor, bravery, and valor linked with warfare. As exemplified by King Duncan’s opening line, “What bloody man is this?” (1.

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2. 1). The captain, who was evidently just coming from fighting and covered in blood and scars, described a violent battle to Duncan. The captain praised “Brave Macbeth”.

According to him, Macbeth’s sword was filled with the “bloody execution” as it smoked (1. 2. 18).

Macbeth displayed great courage and strength in battle, killing numerous enemy soldiers and drenching his sword in their blood. The use of blood imagery continues as Lady Macbeth eagerly awaits the opportunity to commit regicide, urging for her blood to become thick in preparation for the act.

In her request, Lady Macbeth implores the malevolent spirits to grant her the ability to mercilessly and unfeelingly partake in the killing of Duncan. Following Duncan’s murder, blood becomes representative of guilt. To make the chamber guards appear culpable for the “bloody business,” Lady Macbeth smears them with the King’s blood, as Macbeth labels the assassination.

The dominant theme in the play now revolves around guilt. Lady Macbeth is unable to remove the psychological stain of King Duncan’s blood from her hands. She sees the blood on her hands while sleepwalking and dreaming, and her guilt is closely tied to these bloody hands. While sleepwalking, she glances at her hands and exclaims: “Out damned spot-(5. 1.”

Lady Macbeth was driven to insanity because of the connection between guilt and blood, leading her to eventually commit suicide. Macbeth, on the other hand, also struggles with guilt but manages to repress it until the play’s end. At that point, he confesses his guilt to Macduff by telling him: “But get thee back, my soul is too much charg’d with blood of thine already.” (5.

8. 5). Macbeth is reluctant to fight Macduff due to his guilt over ordering the killing of Macduff’s family. However, the theme reverts to honor as Macduff is applauded for slaying Macbeth.

Throughout Macbeth’s downfall, blood plays a constant role, albeit with varying connotations. It forms a cycle, symbolizing the transformation of Macbeth from an honourable character to a treacherous one after killing Duncan, and then to a guilty one before ultimately being killed by Macduff, restoring the cycle. Blood symbolism is intricately woven into the play’s structure and significantly contributes to its dominant imagery. The numerous references to blood enhance the realism of Macbeth, making it an exceptionally powerful theme.

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