Motif Of Blood In Macbeth

Throughout the play, William Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a changing character; he abandons is morals and becomes a tyrannical leader who leads through violence. We see this through the usage of the motif of blood in the play and how it represents different things as the play progresses- originally it is used as a symbol of chivalrous behaviour. We see this when Macbeth is described to have ‘’unseamed him from the nave to th’ chaps’’; demonstrating Macbeth’s heroic nature. However, it eventually changes to become a symbol of violence and guilt, completely changing from its former symbolic meaning.

Our first perception of Macbeth is through the Captain, he is described with the epithet ‘Brave Macbeth’. The adjective ‘brave’ tells us that

We see this through the usage of the motif of blood in the play and how it represents different things as the play progresses- originally it is used as a symbol of chivalrous behaviour. We see this when Macbeth is described to have ‘’unseamed him from the nave to th’ chaps’’; demonstrating Macbeth’s heroic nature. However, it eventually changes to become a symbol of violence and guilt, completely changing from its former symbolic

The adjective ‘brave’ tells us that Macbeth is a noble fighter who is willing to do what is necessary to do whatever it takes to protect his king; he is one of their most loyal soldiers. Furthermore, Macbeth is presented as heroic and chivalrous through the death of Macdonald. Macbeth is said to have ‘’unseamed him from the nave to th’ chaps’’, this shows Macbeth’s heroic nature as rather than simply killing an enemy of Scotland through normal means such as stabbing him, Macbeth slices him in half. This suggests that Macbeth is willing to face the gory and gruesome scene of a sliced body to demonstrate his honourability. Furthermore, this could also suggest that Macbeth is personally upset by the traitorous actions of the former thane of Cawdor and uses his righteous opportunity to kill to express his anger and disdain towards