Blood as an Image of Honor, Betrayal and Guilt in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

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Blood as an Image of Honor, Betrayal and Guilt in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Blood is usually interpreted as a sign of horror and wrongdoing;

however, in the play Macbeth, Shakespeare associates blood with a

variety of atmospheres. Blood imagery begins with the fight against

one traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, and ends with the death of another,

Macbeth. Although the uses of blood produce different effects, both

are used to symbolize death. Shakespeare generates other blood imagery

throughout the play to create impressions of honor, betrayal and

guilt.

Shakespeare begins the play using the image of blood to symbolize

honor and victory. In the fight against the original Thane of Cawdor,

the captain who is covered in blood, is recognized as triumphant

because of his noticeable wounds; "So well thy words become thee as

they wounds: / They smack of honor both." (1.2.47-48). The bloody

soldier is used to exemplify the victory of the king's armies in

battle. Macbeth's success in combat is also represented by blood, "For

Brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name), / Disdaining Fortune, with

his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution"

(1.2.18-20). This blood gives Macbeth a new title and respect.

Shakespeare has blood, a customary sign of death and conflict, create

an atmosphere of honor and success.

Contrary to a representation of honor, Shakespeare creates images of

blood to symbolize betrayal. Blood on the dagger Macbeth uses to kill

Duncan represents the treachery to the king. Lady Macbeth betrays the

truth of the murder with the intentions of framing the attendants

"Carry [the daggers] and smear / the sleepy grooms with blood"

(2.2.63-64). Another example of blood as a symbol of betrayal is the

second apparition. Shakespeare uses a bloody baby to represent the

witches' betrayal of Macbeth. The seemingly reassuring apparition

tricks him into a sense of false security, leading to his demise.

Shakespeare uses blood as a symbol of guilt with the character Lady

Macbeth. She ridicules Macbeth for his morality, "Yet I do fear thy

nature; / It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness," and

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