Allegory In Macbeth
In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, hidden symbols and allegories can be found throughout the play. The playwright uses words and phrases to emphasize their meaning, and possibly suggest different ones. The Scottish Play is rich with repetition and underlying meanings, as seen with several examples. As Macbeth learns in the play, murder causes repercussions beyond the conscious mind, and the blood spilled is at his own expense. Shakespeare uses the word blood to symbolize the permanent guilt felt after murder, as well as the obvious consequences it leaves the perpetrator. In the play, Macbeth realizes the magnitude of Duncan’s murder, and wonders if he will ever be cleansed of this deed. Immediately after killing Duncan, Macbeth questions
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Near the end of the play, she becomes delusional after believing there is still blood on her hands: “Out, damned spot! out, I say!” (5.1.30). While there may not be real blood on her hands, Lady Macbeth is stained with the guilt of being an accomplice to Macbeth, and perhaps even his influence. As Macbeth was haunted by Banquo’s bloody ghost, Lady Macbeth is tormented by the culpability of Duncan’s murder. Shakespeare conveys this message while Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking, reminding us of the false reality being created. Doctors and nurses are incapable of helping Lady Macbeth, as the doctor states, “This disease is beyond my practise: yet I have known//those which have walked in their sleep who have died//holily in their beds,” (5.1.62-64). The blood that lies on the hands of Lady Macbeth’s conscious cannot be cleaned, nor can the guilt or consequences.
Shakespeare shows how murder damages the border between what is pure and what is evil, through the use of metaphors and repetitions--specifically of the word ‘blood.’ As it is used in the play, it signifies the consequences that come with the crime, as well as the sickening reality that plays out after one is murdered. We can only imagine the severity of committing murder, and how the aftermath may torment every waking
Near the end of the play, she becomes delusional after believing there is still blood on her hands: “Out, damned spot! out, I say!” (5.1.30). While there may not be real blood on her hands, Lady Macbeth is stained with the guilt of being an accomplice to Macbeth, and perhaps even his influence. As Macbeth was haunted by Banquo’s bloody ghost, Lady Macbeth is tormented by the culpability of Duncan’s murder. Shakespeare conveys this message while Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking, reminding us of the false reality being created. Doctors and nurses are incapable of helping Lady Macbeth, as the doctor states, “This disease is beyond my practise: yet I have known//those which have walked in their sleep who have died//holily in their beds,” (5.1.62-64). The blood that lies on the hands of Lady Macbeth’s conscious cannot be cleaned, nor can the guilt or consequences.
Shakespeare shows how murder damages the border between what is pure and what is evil, through the use of metaphors and repetitions--specifically of the word ‘blood.’ As it is used in the play, it signifies the consequences that come with the crime, as well as the sickening reality that plays out after one is murdered. We can only imagine the severity of committing murder, and how the aftermath may torment every waking