Violent acts driven by ambition can lead to self-destruction and cruel consequences. In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, the main character Macbeth is ambitious and greedy for power. In order to achieve the title of king, he commits violent acts, such as murdering the king and his friend, that eventually end in guilt and strange events occurring. Using violence, Shakespeare demonstrates the consequences of unnatural actions. Through Macbeth and his actions, Shakespeare uses the word blood to illustrate how violent acts can lead to overpowering guilt and unnatural consequences which counteract the violence. Using blood to represent guilt, Shakespeare depicts how Macbeth feels remorse through his violent attempts for power. After murdering Duncan, guilt overpowers Macbeth and he cannot make sense of his actions. As Lady Macbeth tries to convince him to forget about his actions, Macbeth worriedly trembles, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand” (Shakespeare 2.2.78-79). Macbeth’s actions show how blood symbolizes guilt because he cannot rid the guilt of taking Duncan’s blood out of his mind. Macbeth’s responsibility of protecting the king causes him to feel guilt for the act of violence …show more content…
He symbolizes blood as guilt and unnaturalness because people feel them in their blood when they commits violence. He illustrates how individuals should not commit violent acts because they lead to guilt and ruining the natural cycle of life. Guilt can ruin a person and his redeeming qualities. Ruining the natural cycle of life creates unnatural consequences and an individual must step up to overcome those consequences. Many people lean towards violence in order to defeat the unnatural and restore peace to their lives. Self-destructive guilt and unnatural consequences will ruin a person who is greedy for
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.
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the title character had committed violence that he later regretted for all his actions were provoked through his anger. Violence should not have to solve every problem in our society for it is usually done mistakenly, harms children and their education all around the world, and causes guilt. Violence can occur because of the
Shakespeare uses the blood symbol to express Macbeth’s horror and guilt over his crime. Blood reveals Macbeth’s feelings about murder. Overall, the constant presence of blood in Macbeth repeatedly reminds us about how serious the consequences of the characters actions
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.
All things in the world have a natural order to them. That natural order may be different from person to person. This brings about the unnatural—things that may seem odd to the outside viewer. Someone’s perspective can be shifted by the unnatural, or you never experience it. Things like milk before cereal seem unnatural for some, while others may see it as normal.
Playwright, William Shakespeare, in his drama, Macbeth, warns about the dangers of how ambition can lead to devastation. His purpose is to demonstrate how greed can drive a person to abandon their morals, and he adopts an unhinged tone in order to affectively shock his audience to its severity. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses apostrophe, symbolism, and foreshadowing to show that desire for power can lead one’s own destruction. Throughout the drama, Shakespeare uses apostrophe as a way to communicate a character’s emotions to the reader; he does this with Macbeth as well as Lady Macbeth, and while both instances portray how desire for power can lead to the loss of a person’s integrity, it is during Macbeth’s monologue that the reader is able to understand the internal conflict that takes place in a struggle for power.
Violence ended up destroying Macbeth. He solved all of his problems with violence. It makes the audience stop and think about how to rationally problem solve and that murder is not the answer. Shakespeare uses a lot of symbolism in Macbeth. Blood is the first one that comes to mind.
The reader is able to see this through Macbeth’s contemplation on whether or not he should kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth's lust for power and Macbeth’s final yet selfish decision. The overall comparisons are able to demonstrate the harmful physical and psychological effects of power throughout a community. As a result, the reader can learn from both Queen and Shakespeare that one's evil pleasure and desires can be a result of one's destruction all
Shakespeare uses the recurring symbol of blood to emphasize the effect of death and violence on the human psyche. The connotation that Macbeth associates with blood switches from a primary motivator to a guilty reminder. Prior to Duncan’s murder, Macbeth witnessed a floating dagger covered with blood (II.i.33). Macbeth had experienced violence and Blood is also used as a reminder of the guilt and trauma from the murder of King Duncan, the guards and Banquo. Macbeth refers to his hallucination of the ghost of Banquo: “It will have blood, they say.
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
This passage clearly exemplifies how blood can be deceiving being seen in a heroic light only later to be a dark burden on the Macbeth’s. Lastly, Shakespeare shows the reader how blood deceives lady Macbeth by being able to be cleaned off easily at first but then weighing her down with the guilt and responsibility of her actions. Lady Macbeth later realizes bloodshed’s misleading nature and eventually goes insane trying to cleanse her soul saying, “Out damned spot, out, I say! One.
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.
Blood is something most people see as gruesome and disturbing, and not something ordinary people enjoy to be in the presence of. In the play Macbeth, the playwright William Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to expose a character's thoughts and personality. Blood is an important motif constantly shown throughout the play. Macbeth, the main character, thinks he can advance to the throne without any consequences. Blood exemplifies the guilt he is now stuck with, and due to Macbeth's excessive ambition, and overwhelming guilt, he is now faced with the consequences.
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare introduces us to a man on a mission to assassinate the reigning king of Scotland, King Duncan. Through King Duncan, Shakespeare reveals Macbeth’s crude and unfiltered nature while capturing every second of Macbeth’s sadistic plan. With the use of paradox, internal character struggles, and the idea of fate, Shakespeare provides insight on what madness Macbeth created and the effect his madness has on other characters. Through the use of paradox in the play, minor details guide the path of the story to the very end.
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.