“What, / will these hands ne'er be clean?”(A5.S1.L36-37) Lady Macbeth solemnly exclaims. Can the hands of a murderer ever be clean? Will the guilt ever fade away? These questions linger and haunt the minds of two characters in William Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth. In the beginning, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decide to take the throne by murdering the king. Closely followed by this treacherous act, they continue these bloody atrocities until it leads to their own deaths. From the perspective of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, blood symbolizes the heavy burden of guilt shown through the many crimes they committed, the high amount of significant references to blood, and the psychological struggles that they faced. Horrendously, Macbeth commits his first murderous crime in the second act. Leading up to this moment, the doubt, fear, and straining pressure offer no mercy to him. Despite these nagging feelings, Macbeth overrides his emotions, primarily because of his wife, and the fear he felt before haunts him after the crime, closely followed by rising guilt. Shaken and frantic, the killers gaze dreadfully at their blood-covered hands shortly after murdering King Duncan. In lines 43-44 of Act 2 scene 2, Lady Macbeth offers a solution to the sinful mess: “Go get some water, and wash this filthy …show more content…
The play’s title, “Tragedy of Macbeth”, refers to Macbeth, who once was a good man, but turned to evil for selfish desire. In the end, that evil, which brought him guilt, literally tortured him to death, and more so to his wife. Confound and entrapped, Macbeth was forced, or so he thought, to continue committing crimes to keep himself and his secrets safe because he killed the king. Act 3 Scene 3, he kills Banquo. Act 4 Scene 2, he kills Macduff’s innocent family. Each of these treacherous deeds added more and more to the blood on his hands, which added more guilt to his
The image of blood plays an important role throughout the play. Blood represents the murders Macbeth and Lady Macbeth committed along with the guilt and pain they’ve felt afterwards. When Macbeth murdered King Duncan, he was fearful of getting caught. “Will Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?” (2.2.59-60) Later, Macbeth refuses to go back to the crime scene to smear the blood on the sleeping guards because he was afraid of being accused.
Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth see more and more imaginary blood as the time goes on in the play, they feel guilty for what they have done and the blood is a
In Shakespeare's "Macbeth," the motif of blood serves as a powerful symbol throughout the play, representing guilt, remorse, and the irreversible consequences of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's actions. The presence of blood immediately following Duncan's murder and its recurring imagery late in the play encapsulate the psychological torment faced by the couple, signifying their moral corruption and the deterioration of their humanity. Following Duncan's murder, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both overwhelmed by guilt and remorse. They become acutely aware of the blood on their hands, which metaphorically represents their responsibility for the heinous act they have committed.
Blood, hallucinations, and sleep are important symbols and motifs in the play Macbeth. Blood is a symbol of the guilt and violence that permeate the play. The characters are haunted by the blood on their hands, and it serves as a reminder of the terrible acts they have committed. Blood also symbolizes the idea that violence begets violence, and the cycle of violence continues until it consumes the characters.
The smell of blood, and the blood itself on Lady Macbeth’s hands exhibit her guilt over Duncan’s murder. Thus the guilt she feels for causing her husband to do horrible things and creating the guilty conscience her husband now posses. The hallucination of the blood on her hands and her extreme effort to wash it off shows
The sleeping and the dead Are but as pictures; 'tis the eye of childhood That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, For it must seem their guilt.” (Shakespeare 2.2.53). In this scene, Lady Macbeth has tried to change herself to get what she wants because she is overcome with greed. We see that she was unable to kill Duncan, however she is still willing to smear blood and frame innocents to get what she
However, as the play progresses, the gradual diminishing of Lady Macbeth’s stone-like ruthlessness becomes visible as she deals with the guilt that stains her hands. As Lady Macbeth attempts to cleanse herself of the guilt she harbors in her mind, it becomes evident that guilt is a demon. A demon that if not dealt
“which smoked with bloody execution. ”(Shakespeare,1.1) Macbeth all the way at the beginning of the play is a hero. He saved this war for Scotland and he has all the respect from the King, Duncan. Yet despite being a hero, things will change as shown by the bloody man which represents how Macbeth will feel as soon he will be covered in evilness and guilt and that is shown by all the blood.
Throughout the play blood is used as a way to show the evil intentions of not only Macbeth but other characters of the famous play, demonstrating their ambition, anger, and guilt. Undoubtedly, the
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth the symbol of blood is often represented. The symbol of blood changes throughout the play. The imagery of blood is used in two different ways, good and evil. There are several examples of this throughout the play. The symbol of blood is very important in Macbeth.
The guilt that comes from the presence of blood, helps readers develop who Macbeth and Lady Macbeth really are. Blood plays a large role in the development of Macbeth's character.
She makes it seem like it is simple to get rid of the thought that he just murdered the King by just washing the blood. While Macbeth inside is suffering from his guilt Lady Macbeth makes seem so effortless and acts like nothing happened. The thought questioning herself of what action she forced her husband to do or get involved in never crosses her mind. She gives him false hope on stating that everything will be fine if he just goes and washes all the blood and act absent-mindedly. Shakespeare is showing that “ cannot commit such crime without undergoing terrible inner torment and triggering self-defeating behavior”( Paris) shows that it is the less external consequences of his crime than the internal deterioration.
The theme of blood is even in the ending at which Macbeth is killed by Macduff. Blood is even used to show the guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth when it is said she didn’t think her hands would ever come clean from the red blood stain or the smell of blood. : “What, will these hands ne'er be clean?—No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with this starting.” (5.1.2166-2169), “Out, damned spot! out, I say!—One: two: why, then, 'tis time do't.—Hell is murky!—Fie, my lord, fie!
Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” explores a man’s fall from morality through committing the act of regicide, as well as ideas of guilt, greed and corruption. A motif of blood is used throughout the play to aid Shakespeare’s character development of Macbeth and it also facilitates further exploration of the figurative moral compass and culpability. Blood is used as a symbol and physical manifestation of guilt within characters throughout the play. Firstly, Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to emphasise the moral deterioration of Macbeth 's character.
At first Lady Macbeth did not feel any guilt until things begin to get carried away. Sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth is heard saying, “Here's the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. ”(5:1:53-55) and“ Out damned spot, out, I say”(5.1.37). Lady Macbeth is saying these things because she is visualizing that there is blood still on her hands representing her extreme guilt because she knows what she did not was wrong.