He can report,/ As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt/ The newest state.” (1.2.1-3), to which blood indicates the open wounds Macbeth had caused to him. Shakespeare’s use of blood in this scene represents the loyalty and honor as Macbeth killed Macdonwald in defense of the king. After the battle, Macbeth was rewarded with a new title as the Thane of Cawdor yet he was not completely satisfied as he became greedy. Shakespeare also uses bloody images to foreshadow future events associated with Macbeth’s power. Aside from symbolizing blood as honor, he uses it to demonstrate the character of Macbeth and his drastic personality change as the play progresses.
That’s how it signifies Macbeth in the play. Macbeth is portrayed as a traitor and a murderer. He killed King Duncan, and is responsible for Banquo’s, and Macduff’s family’s death. In Act 5 Scene VII Macduff says “My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain…”. This means that Macduff will go after Macbeth for revenge after Macbeth killed his family.
Macbeth quotes, “will it not be received/ When we have mark’d with blood those sleepy two/ Of his own chamber and used their very daggers/ That they have done’t? (1.7.75-79), stating that blood is beginning to literally represent guilt, rather then symbolically. By killing Duncan with the guard’s weapons and then smearing blood all over them, Macbeth is framing them, making them guilty by using Duncan’s blood. This quote also depicts Macbeth’s transition from a morally correct ruler to a corrupt and vicious murderer. Before hearing the witch’s prophecy, he was a virtuous and ethical person, but after hearing that he is destined for kingship, he goes on a murderous rampage to gain political power, completely disregarding his previous decency.
Upon hearing of his families’ death, Macduff returns to Scotland to confront Macbeth, who is slain. The horrid acts performed by Macbeth were brought to justice through his death, and power was restored with the crowning of King Malcolm. Lady Macbeth was the driving force that kept pushing Macbeth to his terrible crimes. One crucial statement she made to her husband directly insulted Macbeth’s manhood, and manipulated him into committing heinous crimes, “What beast was't then, When you durst do it then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man..."(Shakespeare, 1.7, 47-49). In this statement Lady Macbeth resorted to
His immediate appointment of Macbeth to replace Cawdor will eventually mean his own death. The witches too betray Macbeth by tempting him with prophecies, which turn out to be false. It is only at the conclusion of the play when Macbeth has been defeated that he realizes how the witches have operated,’ these juggling fiends…that palter with us in a double sense.’ Macduff demonstrates a deep sense of loyalty by fleeing to England and organizing an army to defeat Macbeth. As a result of his act of heroic loyalty to his country his family are brutally slaughtered. Lady Macbeth manifests a misguided loyalty to her husband.
Antony Sher felt as though Macbeth was closer to the first knife murderer, showing guilt for his murders. Sher’s theory on Macbeth being “war crazy” seems to be on target with what I had thought. His killing in war probably destroyed his sanity. Sher also seems to believe that playing the part of Macbeth is
Was Macbeth’s decline and death his own fault? In the play “Macbeth”, written by William Shakespeare, we notice that Macbeth’s decline and his death is the result of his own fault. Macbeth is one of the main characters in the play, he transforms from being a war-hero to becoming a vicious murder. The arguments that support this statement to be true are: Macbeth’s ambition, the killings of Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family and finally Macduff’s revenge. Firstly, Macbeth’s decline and death is his own fault because of his ambition.
The first time Shakespeare uses blood as a symbol is when when Macbeth is going to kill Duncan. He imagines a bloody dagger in front of him and pointing towards Duncan’s room in his castle. The blood in this scene mentions that Macbeth is about to kill Duncan. It also shows his fear about killing Duncan. He is feeling guilty even though he has not yet killed him.
First, there is the actual blood that is literally present and that can clearly prove one’s guilt. A perfect example of this is King Duncan’s blood which Macbeth must scramble to wash off of his hands and which is used by Lady Macbeth to frame the guards for the murder. A second use of blood to convey guilt is that which only the characters themselves are able to see, as in their guilty
Eventually everything proves to be too much for him and Lady Macbeth and it swiftly leads them to their death. One of Macbeth’s soliloquy’s in the play is when he sees a dagger appear in front of him right before he is going to kill Duncan, cornering him into a whirlpool of uncertainty and hesitation. In this soliloquy, the author uses metaphors and motifs in order to emphasize the fragile state of Macbeth’s mind at this point in time. The author uses the metaphor of a dagger to demonstrate Macbeth’s struggle with appearance vs. reality. Right before Macbeth is about to kill Duncan, a dagger appears in front of him, forcing him to question