Blood has multifarious meanings while our main character Macbeth is an abyss of varying representations. At inauguration bloodshed and Macbeth seem honorable, as we proceed they represent treachery, and eventually blood becomes the inexterminable token of Macbeth’s guilt. Honorable bloodshed seems almost a perfect paradox, yet it retains its value in the world of contention and war. The bleeding soldier is simply a heroic symbol of honor in himself. To validate this point the soldier is basically being interrogated even though he is weakened by blood lost he continues to tell his story of hope and valiance, all the while needing attendance.
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).
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. Macbeth is starting to realize how evil this crime he committed is. Macbeth goes from being this brave, heroic warrior that the citizens of Scotland can look to for inspiration to a murder with an overwhelming feeling of guilt upon his soul. The image of blood in this passage signifies guilt because nothing he does can change the evil crime he has committed. Macbeth will have to live with this on his conscience for the rest of his
Noticing his blood-drenched hands, Macbeth screams out and this passage beginning with "What hands are here? . . . Making the green one red" is eloquently self-explanatory.He commits Duncan's murder to gain the crown, once he gain it, he has the murders of Banquo and the wife and children of Macduff committed for the preservatiom of his crown.
Macbeth responds, in brief, as a loyal thane to the Scottish king, but the prospect unnerves him. * The audience could see Macbeth’s ambition leading him to cursed thoughts which has been greatly *enforced and twisted* by the* malicious* witches. *The caution from the first apparition causes Macbeth to start a bloody massacre across England, killing families of people who may threaten his position. After this point in the play, we see *that *Macbeth* has* turn*ed* into a ruthless tyrant* in the hope of avoiding fate*, so desensitized to humanity that even the suicide of his wife *could not arouse grief from him. * All he could muster was* “She should have died hereafter”.
All the irony in the tale alludes to the idea of an insane narrator. The writer also provides a number of instances where symbolism is used to emphasize the theme. The heart in the first place symbolizes the narrator’s strong guilt of the crimes he committed. He seemed to hear the heart of the old man beat after he had murdered him beat. This was because of the guilt of murdering the man and the fear of being caught.
This huge contrast is shown by the transition of the word “friends” (line 221) used by Antony to describe the conspirators to “butchers” (line 255) at the beginning of the soliloquy. Lines 255-256 are the beginning of his soliloquy therefore the reader is finally told of Antony’s feelings towards the conspirators and the murder of Ceaser. Within these two lines, Antony apologises to Ceaser for having treated the conspirators with good-naturedness even after they murdered Ceaser savagely. His regret at doing so is showcased by the long vowel sound “O” which shows his real and distraught reaction towards Ceaser’s death. This is immediately followed by a metaphor for Ceaser’s body “thou bleeding piece of earth” that shows he believes that the murder of Ceaser was nought but savage.
In the beginning, Macbeth feels guilty and questions killing Duncan. He put too much thought into the act and his guilt caused him to begin to mentally break. He questions himself and whether he should do it and then sees, “such an instrument I[he] was to use ... and on thy blade, and dudgeon, gouts of blood, which was not so before”(2.1. 52). In this scene, Macbeth’s over analysis of the situation in combination with his mind boggling guilt caused him to see this dagger that was not really there.
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.
No one to blame but Macbeth Decisions can be impacted by a number of factors; but in the end we have to be the ones to take responsibility for our actions. This is demonstrated when we see Macbeth transform from a brave soldier to a power-hungry murderer, feared by all his subjects. Macbeth is the one to blame for his own descent into cruelty and murder because he let his ambition, arrogance and greed take over his mind. While some may claim that Macbeth is to blame for his actions, others argue that it is the force of the supernatural that leads to his demise. Early on the witches reveal prophecies to Macbeth suggesting his rise to power.