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.
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
It also develops the wicked and evil characters of the witches. Act 1 Scene ii 3. What evidence do we have of Macbeth’s bravery and the high regard Duncan holds him in? The evidence of bravery by Macbeth was in the bleeding Captain’s report. The Captain spoke to King Duncan about the course and outcome of the battles.
He bewails, “It will have blood: they say, blood will have blood, (3.4.121).” After confessing his treasonous actions to his noble guests while in a dazed trance, Macbeth is now expressing his conviction that his actions will be avenged. By saying that “blood will have blood,” Macbeth is acknowledging that those with bloody hands will eventually have to face the revenge of the victims of their bloody actions. With Macbeth’s growing sense of dread, represented by the “ocean” of blood, he not only faces guilt in the sense that there is clear evidence in the form of actual blood, but also the kind of guilt blood comes to represent. When it comes to guilt, blood is seen in two different ways. First, there is the actual blood that is literally present and that can clearly prove one’s guilt.
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
In the play Macbeth wants to be king and the dagger symbolises Macbeth’s penis. The dagger represents the desire of Macbeth killing Duncan, as the dagger and blood is pointing at Duncan. The dagger also represents Macbeth’s desire of expanding his offspring to be the king and leave his sons to rule for him. The last example of symbolism is the chaotic scenes and reversal of nature which takes place after the murder of Duncan. At the time of Macbeth a common belief was that everything is as it is because god put it there.
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.
Consider how Shakespeare presents the changing relationship between Lady Macbeth and her husband and analyse how the relationship contributes to Macbeth’s tragedy. A Shakespearean tragedy always contains a protagonist. The protagonist of the play always has a fatal flaw which leads to the character’s own tragic demise.Each play contains an element of hope that is disappointed, or a certain ambition that is frustrated. Macbeth is the protagonist in this play. Macbeth’s ambition leads him to murder Duncan with the assurance of good reward.