Blood In Macbeth Essay

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The play Macbeth centers on betrayal, war, and justice and as it does, blood plays a very significant role evoking different types of emotion from different characters throughout the play. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seemed the most emotionally moved both mentally and physically, by the sight of blood because they had the most to lose. From the beginning of the play with the killing of Duncan, to the dinner party with the bloody ghost of Banquo haunting Macbeth, to one of the final scenes of Lady Macbeth sleep walking trying to get the blood spots off of her hands, blood is shown all throughout the play symbolizing guilt, murder, revenge, and even suicide.
After killing Duncan, Macbeth seemed very shocked that he actually committed the murder. This is illustrated in the text as it reads that Macbeth was very pale in the face, fearful, and shocked that he had just actually killed King Duncan. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he has followed through with the murder but has not followed out with their plan in its entirety, because he forgot to return all of the bloody daggers he initially took from Duncan’s chamberlains to set them up. Macbeth seems very guilty by what he has just done and tells his wife he cannot go back in there to finish the job. Lady Macbeth tells him “Go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hand. Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there: go carry them and smear the sleepy grooms with blood.” 2.2 49-53. Ellen Spolsky, author of An Embodied View of Misunderstanding in Macbeth, states that “The prophetic reprimand insists on the gap that can open between the action of the body and the mind's unruly desire: it will not be enough to wash your hands if you do not also refrain f...

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...ience become aware of the level of desperation felt by Lady Macbeth and although we do not actually see Lady Macbeth kill herself it is inferred that the guilt overcomes her and she takes her own life. Scholars Michael Magoulias and Marie Lazzari who wrote critically on the works of Shakespeare assert, “In the sleep-walking scene, Lady Macbeth’s unveiling efforts to wash the smell of the blood from her hand symbolizes the indelibility of guilt.” 80.
Just as King Duncan stated at the beginning of the play “What bloody man is that?” 1.2.1
Blood is very much symbolic all throughout the play Macbeth. In Macbeth, blood equals emotion. It is used throughout the play as a way to suggest many different levels of emotion, such as anger, sadness, guilt, and eventually all of these emotions evoked from the symbolism of blood led to the deaths of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

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