Motif Of Blood In Macbeth Research Paper

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (2.2.27). In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the motif of blood and water represents the crime a person has committed and the “cleansing” of guilt. This motif reoccurs numerous times during the play and is best represent by Macbeth and his wife after they feel the guilt of their crimes. The first being the murder of Duncan, second being the murder of Banquo, and the third being Lady Macbeth’s repentance towards what she has done and what she has made Macbeth do. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses this motif of blood and water to emphasize the theme of the guilt people feel after they commit a horrible crime and how they try to “clean” it away. To add to this theme, Shakespeare has Macbeth

Here, Macbeth is saying to himself “ This is a sorry sight’ (2.2.18), as he looks at his bloody hands with a pale face. Lady Macbeth thinks this is foolish to say and when she notices he took the daggers, she thinks he is even more foolish. She tells him to take these daggers and put them next to the king and smear the blood on the grooms. Macbeth, however, is so shaken up that all he can do is stand and stare. Leaving no choice, Lady Macbeth is forced to do the job she asked her husband to do. While Macbeth stands and stares, he asks himself, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (2.2.57). This is referring to his feeling of guilt and him wondering if all the water in the world can “cleanse” him of this guilt. In contrast, Lady Macbeth thinks her husbands fear of blood is cowardly. Though she dips her hand in Duncan’s blood, when Lady Macbeth leads her husband to a sink to wash their hands, she seems sure that “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.64). This shows that Lady Macbeth doesn't realize the extent of her actions and thinks that any crime can be erased from the mind without the guilt