The Significance Of Blood In Macbeth

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. This was first evident when Macbeth had just killed King Duncan. He enters with a bloody dagger in his hand

He thinks this blood is permanent and cannot be cleaned. Blood can be cleaned easily by water and not be visible anymore, but it is that dark patch which blotches Macbeth’s conscience that cannot be erased. Macbeth using all of Neptune’s ocean is a hyperbole because he does not need that much water to wash blood off his hands. But he is not talking about the blood he can visually but instead of the blood that has tainted his soul and conscience. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s guilt actually decreases. He begins to commit more and more murders despite feeling incredibly guilt after his first. This shows how Macbeth progresses as a character. Killing for him has become a habit by the last act of the play and blood spilled selfishly, for personal gain, does not matter to him anymore. Therefore, Macbeth experienced guilt when he killed Duncan and “saw” blood on his

Macbeth evolved immensely as a character throughout the play and so did other characters such as Lady Macbeth. Blood caused the husband-wife to feel guilty and regret their actions. It caused Macbeth to hallucinate and “see” the result of his actions. Blood and death linked together to remind characters of the many deaths that had occurred during Macbeth’s rise and fall. Violence and murder popped up in the heads of those who thought of or imagined seeing blood. Blood played a huge role in Shakespeare’s play and was more influential when characters thought of it or imagined it instead of actually seeing blood with their own