Macbeth

In the play Macbeth, motifs are found in numerous scenes. The motifs represent a more intense meaning then just the word itself. The motifs change with their meanings along with the setting and the mood of the play. The functions of the motifs are important to the play if the subtleties of the the play are to be understood. Motifs that run throughout Macbeth include blood, sleeplessness, and equivocation. Blood being the first motif has many meanings in Macbeth. As Lady Macbeth plans to kill Duncan, she calls upon the spirits of murder to " make thick my blood; stop up the access and passage to remorse (Act 1/scene 5) ." Thick blood was considered poison, and Lady Macbeth wants to poison her own soul so that she can kill without remorse. Macbeth is also a guilty one, just before he kills King Duncan, Macbeth stares at the " dagger of the mind", and as he does so blood appears on the blade and hilt. " I see thee still, And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before (Act 2/scene 1) " , as Macbeth speaks to the sword just before he commits his "bloody business". Macbeth is seeing the dagger that he plans on using to kill

We often say that we need to "sleep on " a problem, but what do you do when you murder sleep as Macbeth does On the night of King Duncan's murder, Banquo says to his son , " A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, And yet I would not sleep. Because of Duncan's murder, the stage is bloody and the heavens are angry. In the scene in which Macduff discovers the bloody corpse of King Duncan, the Porter, still suffering the effects of a night of drinking, pretends that he is the gatekeeper of hell. After the killing of Duncan , Macbeth gazes at his bloody hands. The motifs changed from honor at the beginning to treachery and guilt. We have seen many meanings of the motifs blood, sleeplessness, and equivocation. Banquo remarks, " oftentimes, to win us to our harm. Two men in another room are saying, " There's one did laugh in's sleep, and one cried 'Murder. " To Macbeth it is as though even in their sleep, they could see Macbeth's bloody murderer's hands. Just after Macbeth has been named Thane of Cawdor, he questions himself if he can believe the witches prophecies. Macbeth wants to be as deadly as the dagger. " The "stage" is this earth, where we humans play out our lives. Duncan ,which beckons him towards Duncans door. So instead of turning the key and opening the gate, he describes some people he might welcome into hell.