Macbeth is a dark play written by Shakespeare. It is about a kingdom in Scotland in which the people living there turn on each other and don't know who to trust. Macbeth changes from an innocent man to a murderous villain. In the end, his cockiness will get the best of him. Throughout the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to convey the theme, “guilt cannot be washed away.” The devices he uses are symbolism and foreshadowing. In the play, blood is represented by guilt. After Macbeth kills the king, he says, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No. This my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red” (Shakespeare 57). He knows now that the crime he has committed was horrible, and the guilt cannot be washed away. Blood works so well as a symbol to represent guilt because it sticks to the readers’ mind as something that stains the hands. Not only is blood symbolized, but so is …show more content…
In act 1, Macbeth meets the witches and they tell him that he will become Thane of Cawdor, and later the King of Scotland. This is explained in this quote; “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail Macbeth! Hail to the, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare, 19) When Macbeth tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, she wants Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth is eager for Macbeth to rise to power. When she confronts him about this, it starts the downward spiral of unfortunate events that makes Macbeth a cynical person. When he kills the king, he starts to feel remorse for what he did. During the play, he says, “Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return to plague the inventor” (Shakespeare 41). Macbeth is explaining how once something bad is done, the guilt will always be with the person who committed it. This foreshadows the theme that guilt cannot be washed
Once again, Macbeth is born into nobility just as Beowulf and Sir Gaiwan. The witches specifically state upon meeting Macbeth that, “All hail Macbeth, Thane of Glamis; All hail Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor; All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (347). Readers see that he is already of nobility, as he is the Thane of Glamis but are predisposed to the future of his rising status. Macbeth, although praised for his challenging tasks and accomplishments, falls to the wayside after learning of the witches prophecies. Macbeth at first believes that, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir(349) but in actuality by thinking this, it means that he has thought of murdering Duncan before hand to gain the crown.
I am going to point out some parts of this story that consisted of foreshadowing. In the beginning when Macbeth went to the three witches for their prophecy, he saw that he would become king of Scotland. So with this example when I read this particular act I was almost certain that in order for Macbeth to become king something would have to happen to King Duncan. At that point it hinted that King Duncan would have to die to pass on the throne.
Macbeth is a play written by Shakespeare in 1606. Macbeth is essentially a story of a warrior who gets consumed by his own greed and ambition. Betrayal is a prevalent theme throughout the play that shifts power between the characters. In the beginning, the Thane of Cawdor betrayed the country and the king. When King Duncan heard the news he removed him from his position, “ No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, And with his former title greet Macbeth” (Shakespeare 1:2:63-66).
Darkness can be seen in many literary works with the intention of showing a turn for the worse in many characters lives. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare displays examples of violence in order to show audience members how Macbeth’s desire for kingship, led to his demise through his guilt. The use of blood, nature and supernatural elements are used as a way of symbolizing Shakespeare's theme of Macbeth’s guilt. Is one man’s desire for nobility worth the cost of others lives? Blood alters the atmosphere throughout Macbeth through the effect it has on the main character.
Second of all, foreshadowing the event that did not happen was another function of the supernatural things. The witches' prophecies made the audience predict how the story was unfolded. Macbeth was affected in a great deal with these prophecies. He told his wife, Lady Macbeth, of a prophecy that he heard. This made them start to have ambitions towards the crown, and to kill King Duncan.
Blood will have blood. (3.4. ?)” The association of blood to his murderous crimes is used to signify his dirty conscious. Blood is messy and can stain clothes similarly to how the repercussions of Macbeth’s actions have a lasting effect of his conscience. He is experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by reliving the horrors of confronting his actions.
Macbeth indicates his guilt when he say’s "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?”(2,2,61-62). He’s meaning if he would ever be able to forget about the deed that he has committed of killing the kind of Scotland Duncan. He also is saying that even the entire ocean could wash his hands clean of the blood. Macbeth feels that what he has done was wrong and shameful.
Courtney Schemansky Mr. Morgan Lit into Film, 5th hour 11 February 2016 Macbeth- Writing Assignment Throughout the ages of literature, authors have been helping readers not be overly surprised by creating dramatic tension with exposing the ending to horrific novels through the device of foreshadowing. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, foreshadowing is used to predict outcomes of the play and express the disastrous fate of Macbeth through the prophecies made by witches along with other events. Right from the start, the entire play is hinted before any of it even begins when Macbeth meets the three witches in the first act.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare set in Scotland about a murderous and vehement king who spirals on a path of destruction as he suffers from the consequences of determining his own fate. The predominant theme portrayed throughout the play is honor vs. loyalty. This is represented through the identification, actions, and quotes of numerous characters. To introduce the theme of honor vs. disloyalty, the characters Banquo and Macbeth exemplify traits that are equivalent with the moral of the story.
Guilt is a feeling that consumes a person and follows them around. This feeling usually happens when one has committed an offence, crime, violation or wrong act. It is the feeling of responsibility for this poor action that has been committed. The author of Macbeth, William Shakespeare, has wrote plays that capture a varying range of emotions that affect many walks of life. In this play, guilt is one of the most significant theme throughout, being displayed countless times.
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.
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.
Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to highlight the theme of punishment, where the effects of violence and wrongdoing have the greatest influence on those who committed such actions. Macbeth’s marriage is one of contradicting roles where he often takes the backseat, allowing Lady Macbeth to lead. His inability to take action gives Lady Macbeth many opportunities to persuade him into making risky decisions, namely killing the king. Macbeth, shocked with his own actions and flowing with remorseful thoughts, pleads for the “all great Neptune’s ocean [to] wash [the] blood/ Clean from [his] hand,” (59). Despite coming to terms with his actions, the image of King Duncan lying dead with “his silver skin laced with his golden blood,” (69) saturates
Macbeth, Crime and Punishment Macbeth, a warrior, earns the title of Thane of Cawdor early in the play. His wife, Lady Macbeth, wants him to become king like the witches prophesied. They make a plan to kill Duncan while Macbeth starts to kill other people. All this murder begins to weigh heavily on the Macbeth’s and they start going crazy with guilt.