Blood in Macbeth
William Shakespeare wrote the Tragedy of Macbeth in approximately 1606 AD. He loosely based it on a historical event occurring around 1050 AD. Macbeth is the story of a nobleman, who, while trying to fulfill a prophecy told to him by three witches, murders his King to cause his ascension to the throne of Scotland. After the King's murder, Macbeth reigns as a cruel and ruthless tyrant, who is forced to kill more people to keep control of the throne. Finally, Scottish rebels combined with English forces attack Macbeth's castle, and Macbeth is killed by a Scottish Thane named Macduff who has sacrificed everything to see peace return to Scotland. In the play, the word "blood" is mentioned numerous times. Shakespeare's use of this particular word is significant; he uses it to develop the character of Macbeth and the unfolding events of the drama. The powerful symbolic meaning of blood changes from the beginning to the end. Near the beginning of the play, after Macbeth and the Sco!ttish army defeated the rebel Macdonwald's army, a bleeding sergeant came on stage. The sergeant then proceeds to describe the battle and how bravely Macbeth and his friend Banquo fought, "For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name- / Di
sdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel / Which smok'd with bloody execution, / Like valor's minion carv'd out his passage. The sins he has committed have not only perverted his virtuous life, but have condemned him to an eternity in hell. Blood shed for a noble cause is good blood. " (Act V, Scene 1, Lines 40, 46-47) The blood imagery exhibits Lady Macbeth's guilt over Duncan's murder. He will be forced to kill more and more people in order to retain control of the throne. Before Duncan's murder, Macbeth imagines seeing a dagger floating in the air before him. We later learn that this guilt strains her mind to the point that she commits suicide. Like her husband, the once ambitious Lady Macbeth finally realizes the significance of associating herself i!n the murder plot, and the severe repercussions it will bring. In the play's final scene, Macduff confronts Macbeth to avenge the murders of his children and his wife at Macbeth's hand, and to see Malcolm established as the rightful King. The audience has now witnessed the complete transformation of Macbeth. Blood, once seen as a positive value, is now associated with evil. After Macbeth murders Duncan, he begins to realize the severity of his crime as he tries to wash Duncan's blood off his hands, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No; this hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red. Her hallucinations of blood on her hands and her constant efforts to wash it off demonstrate that the agony of having guilty feelings is causing her to go insane.
Common topics in this essay:
Act Scene,
Macbeth Mac,
II Scene,
Lady Macbeth,
Lady Macbeth's,
Macbeth Sco,
III Scene,
Scottish Thane,
AD Macbeth,
Malcolm Macbeth,
macbeth's character,
lady macbeth,
blood /,
blood hands,
act scene,
duncan's murder,
blood imagery,
scene 2 lines,
kill people,
wash blood,
murder macbeth,
ocean wash blood,
forced kill people,
|
Acceptance Essays
