The Blood Imagery In Macbeth English Literature Essay

The Blood Imagery In Macbeth English Literature Essay Macbeth is a short play written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s. It is set in medieval Scotland and tells the story of Macbeth, a nobleman who is loyal to the King, but is misdirected by the witches prophecies and by his and Lady Macbeths ambition. The play depicts his bloody rise to power and tragic downfall. Blood is a symbol that appears throughout the play and is present during many important scenes. Shakespeare uses the image of blood to illustrate changes in Macbeths character throughout the play. At the beginning of the play, blood is used to represent Macbeths loyalty and honor as a soldier. As the play progresses, he becomes a treacherous person, betraying King Duncan and murdering him. The blood now is associated with murder and Macbeths treason. Towards the end of the play, the image of blood shows the unending guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth is first introduced to the audience by a wounded captain, who describes him as a heroic soldier, fighting without mercy to protect King Duncan. According to the captain, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ brave Macbeth à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ with his brandished steel Which smoked with bloody execution Like valors minion, carved out his passage Till he faced the slave. (1.2.18-22) The audience is given quite a ghastly image of Macbeth splitting Macdonwalds body in half and then decapitating him, showing Macbeths courage and mercilessness as a warrior. The fact that the bloody man (1.2.1) himself is badly wounded makes his telling of the story even more valiant, and his blood seems to elevate Macbeths image as a hero. King Duncan praises both of them for their heroism, referring to Macbeth as his valiant cousin and worthy gentleman (1.2.26). At this point of the play, blood symbolizes honor and loyalty as well as bravery, victory and the good. As the play goes on, Macbeths character changes and so does the image of blood. He decides to murder Duncan and usurp the throne. Just before committing the murder, he hallucinates and imagines a dagger of the mind (2.1.50) before him. He says to the knife, I see thee still, / And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood, / Which was not so before (2.1.57-59). He also tries to reassure himself, saying that Theres no such thing: / It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes (2.1.59-61). The bloody business refers to the murder he is about to commit. This scene is the turning point of the play, which shows the beginning of Macbeths character transformation from a courageous and honorable man to a treacherous, evil and merciless tyrant. The image of blood symbolizes treason, ambition and murder, contrasting what it meant earlier in the play. It is now associated with evil. After Macbeth murders Duncan, he begins to realize the magnitude of his crime. He says, This is a sorry sight (2.2.28), looking at Duncans blood on his hands. He tries to wash Duncans blood, and his own guilt, off his hands: Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red. (2.2.78-81) This illustrates how the act of murder has changed Macbeths character, turning him into a man full of guilt and remorse. However, he does not stop at one murder but, out of paranoia, tries to solidify his position as a king and get rid of anyone standing in his way. The image of blood continues to haunt Macbeth as the ghost of murdered Banquo shows up at his feast. Shocked by the appearance of the ghost, he exclaims, I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go oer (3.4.168-170). This shows how dramatically Macbeths character has changed he has stepped so far into the world of evil that it is impossible for him to redeem himself and return to righteousness, regardless of how guilty he might feel. It is clear that Shakespeare uses the image of blood to enhance the audiences understanding of Macbeth and his character transformation. He starts off as a noble and just person, turns ambitious and treacherous and, finally, becomes a man full of guilt and remorse for his crime. On the other hand, blood imagery is also used by Shakespeare to evoke a visceral reaction from the audience. Blood represents birth, injury, death and the cycle of life. It is an essential part of life without which one cannot survive. Some people fear blood because it makes them recall their own injuries (for example, a cut in ones flesh), war memories or the death of someone they know. One may try to avoid blood but that is impossible as it runs in everyone. By bringing the image of blood on stage and making it virtually omnipresent, from the bleeding Captain to the beheaded Macbeth at the end, Shakespeare succeeds in making his play easier to relate to and for the audience to feel like part of the action, rather than just observers.