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).
Another example of blood portraying honor takes place later in the play during the death scene of Macbeth. Right before Macduff kills Macbeth, he tells the ill-fated title character, “My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier than terms can give thee out.” With this line, the audience knows that Macbeth’s pleas to have his life spared will not be answered by Macduff. In turn, this is a display of courage on Macduff’s part. Where betrayal is concerned, blood also symbolizes acts of murder and treason. One such allusion is mentioned in act 2, scene 1, during Macbeth‘s soliloquy.
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”.
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.
The devices make a suspenseful, shocking, spine-chilling play. This book is nothing short of ironic; Shakespeare uses the rhetorical device irony all threw Macbeth. For example the thane of Cawdor is killed over committing treason and treachery against the king, only to give the title to Macbeth who plans to commit worst things to the king. The king even goes on to state after killing the thane of Cawdor that “There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust” (I.IV.15). To then put his trust in Macbeth only to be betrayed by him.
As the audience, we can see how Macbeth's character turns from good to evil, from a "valiant cousin" and "worthy gentleman" to a "bloody butcher" and a “tyrant” which leads him down the path of self-destruction. The change in Macbeth’s character helps to illustrate the themes of natural order and vaulting ambition that are integral to the play. Macbeth finally realizes towards the end of the play the consequences of vaulting ambition. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is known as a "noble" and "valiant" soldier who is well valued. He respected the King and proved to be brave in battles as the Captain described him, "…Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chops and fixed his head upon out battlements” in Act 1, Scene 1 (lines 10 – 20) He was also well admired by King Duncan who defined Macbeth as ‘O valiant cousin!
Macbeth’s initial character portrayed him to be a man of nobility by being a military hero. However, due to the weird sister’s prophesies, Lady Macbeth’s manipulation and influences and man’s own ambition, Macbeth was led astray and under goes a change into a murderous tyrant. In the opening scenes of Macbeth, Macbeth is reported brave as he fought to defend Duncan against a rebellion. Macbeth’s loyalty and nobility is shown in the quote ‘which smok’d with bloody excetution’. This description describes Macebth’s sword killing the rebel MacDonald.
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.
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
Causes of Macbeth's Downfall Summary: In the play "Macbeth," both the witches and Lady Macbeth were responsible for Macbeth's downfall. Macbeth was at first a noble, loyal man who would never harm his king. However, the witches' foretelling gave Macbeth greater ambition and desire to become king himself, and Lady Macbeth's manipulation and insistence led him to commit the murders needed to fulfill this heightened ambition. Macbeth was a noble and loyal man, who would never harm his King. If it wasn't for the influences of the people surrounding him, he would have lived happily as Thane of Cawdor, an honourable title in itself.