Blood is a key theme in Macbeth. To the characters in the play, blood represents different things. For Macbeth, it is a symbol of his guilt. The blood on his hands reminds him of the innocent people he has killed in his quest for power. Lady Macbeth also associates blood with guilt. She tries to wash the imaginary blood from her hands after she has helped her husband kill Duncan. Blood also symbolizes bravery and honor. In medieval Scotland, warriors who died in battle were often covered in their own blood. This was seen as a sign of their courage and strength.
When Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo covered in blood, he is reminded of his own guilt. He has killed Banquo in order to prevent him from becoming king. Macbeth is also terrified of the prophecy that says Banquo’s descendants will be kings. The sight of Banquo’s ghost covered in blood represents Macbeth’s fear that he will be caught and punished for his crimes.
In the final scene of the play, Macbeth is killed by Macduff. As he dies, Macbeth sees a vision of a bloody child. This may represent Macbeth’s own guilt, as well as the innocent children who have been killed because of his actions. It is also possible that the bloody child is a symbol of hope. Despite all the bloodshed, Mac beth’s rule will eventually come to an end. The next generation will be free from his tyranny.
Blood is a key theme in Macbeth because it represents different things to different characters. To Macbeth, it is a symbol of his guilt. Lady Macbeth associates blood with guilt as well. Blood also symbolizes bravery and honor. In the final scene of the play, Macbeth sees a vision of a bloody child.
This may represent Macbeth’s own guilt, as well as the innocent children who have been killed because of his actions. It is also possible that the bloody child is a symbol of hope. Despite all the bloodshed, Macbeth’s rule will eventually come to an end. The next generation will be free from his tyranny.
Guilt is a horrible feeling that breeds regret, self-punishment, and shame. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are unaware of this fact, but each time they murder, their guilt grows ever greater, pushing them closer to ruin. Shakespeare employs the imagery of blood in Macbeth to show how Macbeth’s and Lady macBeth’s roles evolve towards the conclusion of the drama.
At the beginning of Macbeth, blood is used to represent Macbeth’s honor and bravery. In the first scene, Macbeth’s bloody hands are a result of his loyalty to Duncan. Macbeth says: “I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself / And falls on th’ other-” (1.7.25-28). Macbeth’s brave actions led him to be covered in blood, but he does not feel guilty about it. The blood on his hands is a symbol of his noble deeds.
However, as the play progresses and Macbeth murders more people, the blood begins to represent his guilt. After Macbeth kills Banquo, he is haunted by his ghost. Macbeth sees the ghost and says: “Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going; / And such an instrument I was to use. / Mine eyes are made the fools o’ th’ other senses, / Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still, / And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, / Which was not so before” (3.4.50-54). The blood on Banquo’s sword symbolizes Macbeth’s guilt for murdering him. Macbeth is so consumed by guilt that he sees blood everywhere.
By the end of the play, Macbeth is so full of guilt that he can no longer function properly. He is paranoid and delusional, and he sees blood on everything. In his final scene, Macbeth says: “I am afraid to think what I have done; / Look on’t again I dare not” (5.2.16-17). Macbeth is so overwhelmed by guilt that he can no longer even look at the blood on his hands.
The blood imagery in Macbeth illustrates the progression of Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s guilt. The more they murder, the more their guilt increases, until it eventually consumes them entirely.
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth go to great lengths to conceal their consciences at the start of Macbeth. “Hide your fires,” commands Macbeth, “Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.57-58). If the stars hide their light, Macbeth’s dark desires will be hidden, and he will feel no guilt. Lady Macbeth shouts at the spirits and orders them to “unsex me here / And fill me with . . .new frenzy! Make thick my blood / Stop up the access and passage to remorse” (1.5.42-45).
She wants to be immune to the emotions of guilt and compassion so that she can help Macbeth carry out his plan.
The first time blood is mentioned in Macbeth is when Macbeth murders Duncan. Macbeth’s hands are covered in blood and he cannot get the stains out no matter how much he tries. This symbolizes the fact that he can never wash away the blood from his hands and he will always be guilty. Macbeth is so disturbed by the blood on his hands that he says, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red” (2.2.59-62). Blood also symbolizes Macbeth’s ambition.
Lady Macbeth summons the devil’s minions in order to remove her womanhood, transform her into a man, and conceal her guilt so that she will feel no remorse. Both of them are aware that once they experience guilt, they will be condemned and convicted. When Macbeth murders Duncan, he feels overwhelming guilt, but Lady Macbeth appears to feel nothing.
Macbeth looks at his hands and sees them covered in Duncan’s blood, which is a metaphor for the guilt he is feeling. He says “What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red” (2.2.60-64). Macbeth is saying that no matter how much he washes his hands, the blood will not come off because it is inside him, staining his soul. The color red also symbolizes Macbeth’s guilt and Lady Macbeth’s call for blood in her sleep.
Macbeth’s bloody hands also symbolize the act of killing itself. Macbeth says, “This is a sorry sight” (2.2.74). He is not just talking about the blood on his hands, but the fact that he has killed Duncan. The guilt is tearing him apart and making him feel guilty for something he knows he did wrong.
When Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, he tries to wash the blood off his hands again, but it does not work. The blood is now a metaphor for Macbeth’s conscience. Macbeth can no longer hide his guilt and it is slowly consuming him.