Dramatic Use of Images of Blood in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
'Macbeth' is the story of a nobleman, who, while trying to fulfil a
prophecy told to him by three witches, murders his king to cause his
ascension to the throne of Scotland. After the King's death, Macbeth
reigns as a cruel and ruthless tyrant who is forced to kill more
people to keep control of the throne. Finally, Scottish rebels
combined with English forces attack Macbeth's castle. A Scottish thane
named Macduff, who has sacrificed everything and whose family was
killed by this tyrant, then kills Macbeth in the closing scene.
Considering the fact that many people are killed in 'Macbeth', the
number of murders committed on-stage is minimal.
We have known blood to represent life, death, and often injury. Blood
is an essential part of life, and without blood, we could not live.
Shakespeare uses this fact to create imagery to represent treason,
murder, guilt, and death. These ideas are constant throughout the
play.
King Duncan is the first to mention blood, and he does so in the
second scene of the play. At this time, Scotland has defeated Norway;
Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, have led the Scottish forces to
victory. The blood in this scene is depicted as showing honour and
heroism. Duncan sees an injured Sergeant and says: "What bloody man is
that?". This is symbolic of the brave fighter who has been injured in
a valiant battle for his country. In the next passage, in which the
Sergeant says: "Which smok'd with bloody execution", he is referring
to Macbeth's braveness in which he covered his sword in the hot blood
of the enemy.
Macbeth's brutality ...
... middle of paper ...
...are conveys the theme of death, murder and
treason through the imagery of blood effectively. Blood, being an
important part of essential life, is a perfect metaphor for death and
murder. It is an successful symbol and it is used well throughout the
play. He uses this blood imagery to enhance the audience's
understanding of Macbeth's character and the audience has now
witnessed the complete transformation of Macbeth. He starts as a
noble, brave and just person. He gradually becomes evil, ambitious and
treacherous during and after Duncan's murder, after his initial
feelings of remorse for his crime. He finally realises that he will be
punished for his sins.
Due to these many changes, it has been proved that the symbol of blood
has different meanings, which can be attributed to it throughout the
course of this play.
William Shakespeare uses many techniques to liven the intensity, and the excitement in his plays. In the play of MacBeth, Shakespeare uses blood imagery to add a sense of fear, guilt, shame, insanity, and anger to the atmosphere. The use of blood imagery allows the audience to vision in their minds the crime scene where Duncan was murdered, as well as the scene where Lady MacBeth tries to cope with the consequences of her actions. The talk and sight of blood has a great impact on the strength and depth of the use of blood imagery.
Shakespeare used the image of blood to portray the central idea of Macbeth, King Duncan’s murder. The crime is foreshadowed in the second scene of the first act. The king shouts, “ What bloody man is that?” (I,ii,1) He is referring to a soldier coming in from battle. The soldier then explains to King Duncan of Macbeth’s heroics in battle. One assumes that Macbeth is bloody just like the soldier. The soldier describes Macbeth in action “Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution.” (I,ii,17-18) This line connects Macbeth with killing, and hints at the future.
Throughout Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’, the recurring imagery of blood is used as a symbol to demonstrate the constant feelings of guilt felt by the characters, ultimately leading to their endless feelings of fear and horror.
In the beginning of this play blood resembles honor, bravery, and maybe even victory. Macbeth's blood saturated sword after the war portrays him as a brave hero because of the enemy he killed. He is known as "Brave Macbeth" to everyone including Duncan, the King. His bravery is rewarded by the title of Thane of Cawdor, with the help of the current one being executed for treason. I feel that the word blood at the beginning of this play earns Macbeth’s respect from not only the characters, but also the audience.
Blood is mentioned throughout the play and mainly in reference to murder or treason. The first reference to blood is in MacBeth's soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 33-61, when Macbeth sees the bloody dagger floating in the air before him. Also in this soliloquy on line 46 he sees "on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood", this means that there is blood on the handle and spots of blood on the handle. This is implying that the dagger was viciously and maliciously used on someone. Shakespeare most likely put this in as premonition of murder and death to come later in the story.
Shakespeare is well known for including symbolism in his plays to increase interest to those who watch or read the plays. Blood imagery is essential to Macbeth; it portrays guilt for various reasons, regret and remorse and the evil thoughts of characters, can all be observed through blood imagery. Blood imagery signifies all the emotions and thoughts of the characters in Macbeth, proving that we must think before we act.
The imagery of blood plays a hefty role in the tragic play Macbeth, as it
Blood is a recurring theme in this play; the theme of blood shows the setting of the play at that time and the different moods and emotions acquired by the characters. This idea of blood in the characters mind reverse from the beginning of the play to the end. Blood traverses the play Macbeth.King Duncan is the first to bring up blood in the play. Scotland at this time is fighting Norway; Macbeth and his best friend, Banquo, lead the Scottish forces to victory. The blood brought up by Duncan shows the honor and the heroic deeds done by Macbeth. "What bloody man is that?" Duncan asked to which Malcolm tells him it is the sergeant who had saved him and fought honorably.
“.blood will have blood.” , Macbeth is a well known book written by Shakespeare. In it, a once loyal soldier to the king of Scotland starts to seek a way for him to get the crown for himself. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the imagery of blood to represent the guilt of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, demonstrating the feeling of guilt has consequences of severe punishments. The imagery of blood shows Lady Macbeth wants to get rid of her guilt.
... middle of paper ... ... Shakespeare employs the powerful symbol of blood to augment the tragic nature of Macbeth, while dually adding dramatic effect to the play. Blood’s recurring symbolism throughout the play constantly reminds the audience of the Macbeth’s irreconcilable guilt. Blood’s symbolism in the murder of Duncan transforms an act of treachery into a ghastly betrayal.
The captain is bleeding because he fought bravely in battle, especially against Malcolm’s (the son of King Duncan of Scotland) “captivity” (I ii 6). His wounds signify his loyalty to Scotland. In his severely wounded state, however, the bloody captain decides to speak about Macbeth’s bravery against the Norwegian invaders and especially the rebel leader Macdonwald to the King. Macbeth has been killing so many people that his sword “smoke[s]” (I ii 21), or steams, with blood.
Blood is something that we need to live. So it is clearly understood when Shakespeare uses the symbol of blood to represent murder, betrayal, and death, to show all of the evil that was going on. It is a symbol that was used the most in the play Macbeth, and had different meanings.
Blood was very evident throughout Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Violence caused blood to drip from the fingers of characters and stain them for the rest of their life. Blood meant various things in the play but it was certainly seen, literally and through hallucinations. Blood in Macbeth is more important when it is imagined by characters but is not actually there because it causes main characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to feel more guilty, becomes a reminder of death, and represents violence and murder. The biggest role of blood in the play was becoming a stigma of guilt for characters including Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
The image of blood plays an important role throughout Macbeth. Blood represents the murders that Macbeth had committed, the guilt that went along with the murders and the pain that it brought on him during his downfall. The soldier describes the violence and bloodshed, in the war between Scotland and Norway, "Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds." (I. ii. 43) foreshadows the violent nature of the play filled with murder, guilt and pain. Blood in the murder of King Duncan also plays a major role because it represents Macbeth's guilt as well as his shame for slaying King Duncan. Macbeth observes his blood stained hands and remarks "As they had seen me with these hangman's hands." (II. ii. 28) This reveals his guilt and shame because he is comparing his hands to those of an executioner's. After the murder, Macbeth refuses to return back to the bed chamber of Kind Duncan to smear the blood on the sleeping guards, because he is afraid that the blood will incriminate him further. Lady Macbeth smearing the blood onto the guards represents them trying to rub their guilt off onto the guard. "I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt" (II. ii. 73) but this proves to be ineffective because Macbeth ends up murdering t...
Blood is seen as a symbol of courage and valor for Macbeth, who fights valiantly on the bloody battlefield.... ... middle of paper ... ... The symbol of blood in "Macbeth" comes full circle as it conveys honor, betrayal, guilt and honor again.