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- Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel Which smok'd with bloody execution, Like valor's minion carv'd out his passage..." (Act I, Scene 2, Lines 19-21) Blood is symbolic of bravery and courage in this passage. Blood shed for a noble cause is good blood. However, Macbeth's character changes throughout the play are characterized by the symbolism in the blood he sheds. Before Duncan's murder, Macbeth imagines seeing a dagger floating in the air before him. He describes it, "And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There's no such thing: It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes." The blood imagery in this passage obviously refers to treason, ambition, and murder.
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