The idea of blood in other works and novels typically evokes the idea of slaughter and massacre. However, in this play the blood symbolizes the guilt that will forever stain the palms of Macbeth and his wife. The simple act of murder that was once looked at as indifferent led to a devastating past. Macbeth expresses his guilt when he remarks, “And with thy bloody and invisible hand/ Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond/ Which keeps me pale” (3.3.48-50). Macbeth is scared by the blood of Duncan.
It starts off with Lady Macbeth asking the spirits “Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood” (I:5). She wants to be insensitive and have no regret for the treacherous deed she is going to commit which is the murder of Duncan. She knows that blood is evidence for a treacherous deed so she wants to turn the evidence to the servants when she says “...smear/ The sleepy grooms with blood” (II:2) and “If he do bleed/I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal/For it must seem their guilt” (II:2). Lady Macbeth was correct because Banquo later states “And question this most bloody piece of work,” and Ross questions “Is't known who did this more than bloody deed?” (II:4).
Deceiving Characters In Macbeth: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the witches In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare there are many characters with appearances that are deceiving. The three characters that are deceiving are Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the witches. Macbeth shows loyalty to King Duncan in the beginning of the play. Macbeth’s appearance is deceiving because later on in the play he ends up killing Duncan. Besides Macbeth, Lady Macbeth also shows her character is deceiving by planning how Duncan will be killed.
Imagery also conveys the consequences of Macbeth actions. For example, ‘blood imagery’ helps to develop the theme of guilt in Act 2, Scene 2: “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” where Macbeth and Lady Macbeth enter their murderous journey. When Lady Macbeth had forced Macbeth to kill Duncan, their crimes have stained them in a way that cannot be washed off. Macbeth looks to his hands and comprehends that water will not be able to wash away the guilt he has to live with and will always have the image of the blood on his hands; they are stained for
Images of Blood • It is a symbol of death, cold-blooded murder and a stain that is difficult to eliminate (seen in Lady Macbeth’s hand-washing compulsion). • It represents guilt as well as cowardice (the bloody dagger and the Ghost of Banquo). • It has been used to scapegoat innocent people (e.g. Macbeth puts Duncan’s blood onto the guards). • It also represents kinship, severing family ties and bonds.
Macbeth shall sleep no more” (II.2.55-57). He is already panicking regarding what he has done and hearing voices that foreshadow his sleeplessness. Then, Lady Macbeth scolds him for leaving the murder weapon behind and he admits that, “I’ll go no more./ I am afraid to think what I have done./ Look on ‘t again I dare not” (II.2.65-67). He’s terrified by what he has done and cannot bear to return to the scene of his bloody crime. Instead, Lady Macbeth must to there and clean up from his murders.
Consider Lady Macbeth’s pathos, reflected in her sleep-walking speeches, “out, damned spot”. Here, ‘damnation’ accompanies the stain that corrupts the spiritual order of the world. Macbeth’s realisation that,“ all great Neptune’s oceans” cannot wash the blood from his hands mirrors Lady Macbeth’s words, “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” Both characters are damned, reinforcing the idea that they have brought hell to earth with their deeds. 20. The identity of the third murderer is a question that is also worth considering in Act III.
Include the scene and the image along with your response Act 5, Scene 1 Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One: two: Why, then, ‘tis time to do’t—Hell is murky!— Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What Need we fear who knows it, when non can call Our power to account?—Yet who would have Thought the old man to have had so much blood in him. I chose this image and scene because it shows Lady Macbeth seeing a spot of blood on her hand that represents the murder and crimes that she has committed.
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red” (Act ll Scene ii 59-62). Macbeth says this to Lady Macbeth right after he has murdered Duncan. In this quote, Macbeth has this powerful feeling of guilt within him and he explains how not even Neptune’s ocean can wash this blood off of his hands and clean himself. The guilt he is feeling makes Macbeth come to a conclusion that he has so much blood on his hands he can make the green seas red.
Motifs in Macbeth Motif is a recurring element that gains significance as a literary work continues. In the book Macbeth, by William Shakespeare there are numerous motifs such as blood, sleeplessness, and darkness. Blood is a sign of evil and wrongdoing. After Macbeth kills Duncan he says, “He can’t wash the blood off his hands.” Macbeth says this because he has this feeling that he will always have that blood stained knowing how he feels guilty for killing Duncan. Macbeth describes Duncan as having had "golden blood," which contrasts with his own.