Preview

The Symbolism Of Blood In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
311 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Symbolism Of Blood In Macbeth By William Shakespeare
There are many different symbols used in Macbeth, such as nature, weather, witches, and sleep. The symbol that is mentioned throughout the play is blood, and it has a very deep and heavy meaning. Throughout the entire play, blood is mentioned multiple times due to all the murders committed. Macbeth shows many different meanings for blood, but the one that is displayed the strongest is guilt. The mood, the repetition, and In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the blood that is shed in the murders symbolizes the guilt that destroys their mind because of the murders. First, the mood conveyed throughout the entire play Macbeth is very serious, dark, and unnerving. The reason that it is so serious, dark, and unnerving is because there are multiple

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Guilt in Macbeth

    • 845 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Symbolism is used extensively to express the motivation of guilt in Macbeth. “Out, damned spot!” (Act 5 scene 1) is one memorable quote by Lady Macbeth. The spots of blood that the lady saw on her hand, while dreaming, is a symbol and metaphor of the guilt that she feels of the king’s murder. Despite what she does to try to wash the guilt away she can’t make the blood disappear. Lady Macbeth earlier on tries to repress her ‘womanly emotions’ in order to commit the murder but she is not successful and that guilt would later become her cause of death. Lady Macbeth says to her husband after the king’s murder, “A little water clears us of this deed”. Later, however, Lady Macbeth’s guilty conscience prevents her from ever washing the spots of blood off her hands. This is an instance of irony. Blood is a heavily used symbol. In Act 3 scene 4, Macbeth says “I am in blood / Step't in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er”. This quote is just after he sees Banquo’s ghost. The blood represents a marsh of guilt and evil that Macbeth has waded so far in that he cannot back out of it. He has no choice but to accept his guilt and if need be, cover up his guilt with more murders. Symbolism gives the audience more insight to the characters and their feelings. It also adds depth to the concepts of guilt in Macbeth and enhances the experience of the plot.…

    • 845 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Twain did in his novel, Shakespeare also utilizes symbolism which happens to correspond to the quote. In one scene, there is a killing of a hawk by an owl. This is rather unusual in nature due to the fact that a strong aggressive hawk is overpowered by the weaker. It is parallel to how Macbeth assassinated King Duncan. By looking into it further, these two events tell us that nature is disturbed and has lost its orderliness. A second literary technique that Shakespeare uses in the tragic play is the recurring motif of blood. The blood in the play represents mainly the guilt that lasts forever. Macbeth states how not even all of Neptune's ocean will wash away the blood from his hands after killing Duncan. On the surface, it's just the matter of how blood stains are everywhere. However, what Shakespeare is "whispering" to the readers is that the blood is the guilt that Macbeth has within him. As Smith stated, what the author whispers is the true meaning behind the…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare uses the symbol of blood in MacBeth to represent treason, guilt, murder and death. These ideas are constant throughout the book. There are many examples of blood representing these three ideas in the book.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Blood Imagery In Macbeth

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Every good story needs imagery. It is what drags the reader into the story and lets them have a clearer picture of what is happening. Macbeth is a William Shakespeare play that contains amazing examples of imagery. It utilizes multiple themes of imagery, but one of the most common is blood. Blood imagery is used to present strong images and to further help the audience know what the characters are dealing with throughout the story.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout the act of storytelling, the author of the tale will use phrases to foreshadow a later part of the story. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare uses blood as a central theme within his work. The representation of blood has many different meanings throughout the play. Such images of blood come to represent death, guilt, and to some extent the relationships within a family. The versatility of the symbol allows the word ‘blood’ the audience to make connections within such a tale. Without the continual influence of gore within the play, the drama would not have the same effect on the audience…

    • 243 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Blood is what keeps man alive. It pumps through our veins and brings life to our bodies. It is also something that can ultimately bring man to his death. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses blood, and the various symbols of blood, many times. Blood is everywhere in Macbeth beginning with the opening battle between the Scots and the Norwegian invaders. "What bloody man is that?", King Duncan asks about a wounded sergeant. The sergeant then tells the story of Macbeth's heroic victories over Macdonwald and the King of Norway. The sergeant's telling of the story is in itself heroic, because he is extremely tired and fatigued from all his loss of blood. Thus the picture of his blood, and his heroism in telling the victories of Macbeth, seem to enhance the picture of Macbeth as a hero.…

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    blood is usually linked to violence, however, over the course of macbeth, blood has also become a symbol of guilt. Death happens is an instance, but blood remains and stains. When Macbeth and lady macbeth feel the guiltiest, they distress that they cannot get the blood off of their hands, and macbeth says no amount of water can wash the blood - the guilt - from his…

    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Shakespeare's play Macbeth tells the story of how the main character starts out as a noble lord but becomes a ruthless killing machine. As the play progresses Macbeth starts to kill lots of his peers because he is very focused on becoming king. What caused this was that Macbeth went to see the three witches to see what his future is going to look like when he becomes king. When he first met the witches . For Macbeth and Lady Macbeth blood represents Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeth’s to escape their murderers deads. Before Macbeth became king he had three titles which were Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis and of course king. Another reason for Macbeth’s titles is because the three witches gave these titles is because of what he did…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Role Of Blood In Macbeth

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Blood is something that appears very often throughout the acts. It becomes very obvious in the beginning of the story when it is shown through fear and guilt. It is presented as a motif throughout this story by making the blood something that will be “stained” into their lives. The reason being for the guilt, has been formed from the mistakes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have or about to have made. Macbeth talks about how he could fill all the oceans with the amount of blood that is on his hands, showing that he feels so terrible about what he’s doing and that it will never be okay. It reminds everyone about the consequences about killing have taken over his and her mind. They try to “wash their hands” and forget about what they have…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, it shows many examples of darkness and blood. These give the reader the much intended feeling of eeriness. Macbeth, along with most of the characters introduced in act one all contribute to this feeling. Throughout this act the audience goes through a series of foreshadowing, along with being shown sides of characters that none of the other characters get to see. These characters all show both darkness and blood.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motif Of Blood In Macbeth

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I believe that the most prominent of the many motifs in Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” was blood. Blood appears in nearly every scene, if not physically then at least as an idea. It is like a presence lurking in the background at every moment, waiting to make its grand appearance.…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Macbeth shakespre has used the theme of blood and death to portray the evil side. In act 2 scene 1 it says that “is dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand”. This quote tell us that Macbeth evil side is leading him to fulfil the dead of killing the king even through Duncan had named him thane of coward .This is a divine rights of king as Macbeth is trying to kill the king even through kings had the direct authority of god which back in the Jacobean times was consider to be a massive sin. The noun “dagger” presents a bloody and deathly imagery this could suggest inner conflict between Macbeth greedy sides as his loyal side. The phrase “towards my hands suggest that Macbeth could be imaging the dagger which could lead him…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Blood can represent many things in life, injury, sin, and even guilt. In Macbeth blood is described throughout the book. Most of the time it is where the characters are experiencing a lot of guilt in what they have done. There are many situations where guilt is the main theme and blood is the reason for this. Guilt can build up in someone until they can not handle it anymore, it is like blood, it stains.…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the breathtaking play, Macbeth can symbolize many things. William Shakespeare was an English poet and he is mostly known for his 154 sonnets. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in England around 1606. The symbolism in Macbeth carries out many different meanings of blood. “Be bloody,bold, and resolute” (4.1.79) the meaning is to be more than you are go beyond just the blood.In Macbeth the blood can represent death, tragedy, and accomplishments to its essential part of life.…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Symbolism Analysis

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the play, “Macbeth” written by Shakespeare there are many deaths and strange happenings taking place. Many of the main characters begin to die off, really taking you by surprise. Shakespeare had an interesting idea to include the use of symbolism and imagery throughout his play. Symbolism is the use of symbols to explain the meaning of qualities, emotions, or ideas. Imagery is a description of visual symbolism in a literary work. There were multiple uses of symbolism and imagery acknowledged from beginning to end. Three of the main appearances of symbolism and imagery seem to involve the use of the number three, symbols of death, and strange occurrences in nature.…

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays