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Symbolism In Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'

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Recommended: Imagery and symbolism in Macbeth

Josie Tapp
Ms. Morris
Senior English – 1st period
6 December 2016
The Vitality of Symbolism in Macbeth
In almost any work of literature that has been written, symbolism has played a part in it. Symbolism is important to include because it helps to further relate and understand the story as a whole. A story with symbolism establishes an abstract and creative view, when it lacks symbolism it loses these elements. Symbolism can help to discover the underlying meaning of certain aspects that have been written. Shakespeare is known for using various types of symbolism in his work, Macbeth is one of these. Verniere writes, “Shakespeare has been a staple of film since the beginning.” (Verniere 1). No matter the subject, Shakespeare has always been …show more content…

The dagger signifies death, the act of Macbeth killing King Duncan along with hiring three murders to kill Banquo and his family. David Bevington writes, “Macbeth arranges the death of Banquo, though Banquo’s son Fleance escapes.” (Bevington 1). Macbeth was successful in killing King Duncan and Banquo; but he failed at killing Fleance, Banquo’s son. Macbeth’s plan did not go as thought. Macbeth fails at killing who he wants to. Gale writes, “The doctor says that there is nothing he can do for her, noting that she needs spiritual and not physical healing.” (Gale 1). Gale is referring to Lady Macbeth’s mental and physical state. The killings that were executed by her husband took a strong toll on her. Ultimately killing her, as well as the other innocent lives. Shortly after King Duncan and Banquo die, Lady Macbeth passes away due to stress and guilt. Lady Macbeth’s death in the play is almost equally tragic as Macbeths. This also shows that the dagger not only symbolizes death, but also the mental state of the characters and how destructive it can be. Jorgensen writes, “For although his lady for a time dominates him, and although her tragedy is almost equal to his, he dominates the play.” (Jorgensen 1). Jorgensen is saying that while Lady Macbeth plays a prominent role in the play, it does not compare to Macbeth’s himself. While the dagger symbolizes death, it also represents destruction, as we see with Lady Macbeth. Without the symbolic meaning of death in the play Macbeth, the story would lose a primary element. Macbeth had a primary goal of killing innocent people to help him reach being king in a fast and convenient

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In Macbeth shakespre has used the theme of blood and death to portray the evil side. In act 2 scene 1 it says that “is dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand”. This quote tell us that Macbeth evil side is leading him to fulfil the dead of killing the king even through Duncan had named him thane of coward .This is a divine rights of king as Macbeth is trying to kill the king even through kings had the direct authority of god which back in the Jacobean times was consider to be a massive sin. The noun “dagger” presents a bloody and deathly imagery this could suggest inner conflict between Macbeth greedy sides as his loyal side.

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After that, Duncan’s son flees on the fear that he’ll be next and Macbeth is crowned king. But then he starts to worry, that his friend Banquo might put the pieces together, and know for sure that Macbeth is the true killer. Macbeth being uneasy, decides to kill his best friend Banquo and Banquo’s son Fleance. That way, no-one will know of the witches and the next king inline is killed as well. Macbeth sees it as two birds with one stone, and he hires a band of killers to ambush Banquo while he’s attending Macbeth’s feast.

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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.”

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The voices he hears that threaten: “Macbeth shall sleep no more” indicate a relationship between guilt and madness. Therefore, the manifestation of the dagger suggests that he feels guilty because of his attempt to murder Duncan. There are three major transitions of thought. First, he contemplates about the dagger’s existence; the second is the invocations of dark images; finally, there is the bell that cuts off Macbeth’s contemplations. The transitions between topics indicate that while Macbeth feels guilty for the murder, his determination makes him ignore

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The dagger popping up symbolizes Duncan’s inevitable murder waiting to happen, and the specs of blood present on the dagger represent the guilt that will eventually haunt Macbeth’s internal peace for the remainder of the play. The vision of the bloody dagger is an illusion created in Macbeth’s mind that stems from the guilt of plotting Duncan’s murder. The second instance is while Macbeth is in the action of killing Duncan and Duncan’s guards awaken then speak: “One cried ‘God bless us,’ and ‘Amen’the other,’ as they had seen me with these hangman’s hands. Listening to their fear, I could not say ‘Amen’/When they did say ‘God bless us.’” (2.2.25-28).

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This manifestation of the dagger could be caused by Macbeth’s future guilt of killing the king because he has expressed thoughts to Lady Macbeth that Duncan was a good and innocent king. After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth was paranoid and scared so he hurriedly went back to his room and had an illusion that he described as “With 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 2.2.78-81). After killing King Duncan, he returns to his room and hallucinates a much more large pool of blood on his hand than the sea. Blood is a symbol of the guilt that he is forever scarred on him so that’s why it was hard for him to wash it off because most of the blood was not

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Both are unaware of its intention, they do not know if it is real or a figment of Macbeth’s imagination or the work of the witches to turn their prophecy to the truth. We are also unaware of what the Dagger signifies, is it condemning or supporting Macbeth’s actions? If we hypothesize that the witches, had the ability to infiltrate Macbeth’s mind and carve out a Dagger so that he would have the courage to commit murder, or to get rid of the thoughts of loyalty and prestige he had towards King Duncan. This claim can be further solidified by looking at Macbeth’s

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Though first confused by the dagger, he later concludes that is a figment of his imagination from a guilt-ridden mind. The intensity of the dagger hallucinations experienced by Macbeth increases as he states that his eyes are “made the fools o’ the other senses,” showing that his eyes perceive visions of which he knows not to be there (2.1.56). He later reasons that it is the “bloody business which informs/Thus to mine eyes,” as the reason he sees this dagger is due to the murderous journey he

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William Shakespeare conveys the message that Macbeth’s ambition overrides his morals to accomplish what he wants and what he thinks will give him happiness. In lines 33-41 of the dagger speech it portrays the message that Macbeth’s guilt is tearing him apart from the thought of what he is going to do. Shakespeare uses apostrophe of the dagger to convey the message. In the speech Macbeth addresses the dagger as if it was a person. This allows the audience to see the moral conflict of inside of

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When Macbeth kills Duncan, there is blood covering the hands. Then at the end of the play when Lady Macbeth is talking about the spot on her hands, she is talking about blood and how they must be washed to be cleansed of the sin. The other on the stuck out to me was the symbolism of the snake. The snake is evil, but he is covered and waiting to

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This conveys Macbeth’s character at the beginning to be a misrepresentation because for him to have killed Duncan who was his king and cousin as well as Banquo a friend and man who he fought alongside in the war is not the actions of a noble man. However, he first acts on his ambition in (2.1) when Macbeth makes his “is this dagger before me” speech; he acknowledges that what he sees is not real, but through this vaulting ambition he visualizes the dagger as sign that he should kill Duncan. After he kills Duncan it is apparent that his

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He feels as though it is urging him to fulfil his desire to become king. Page 45, Act II, scene ii, "Your shape is as real as my own dagger, which I now draw from its sheath. You lead to in the direction I was going (i.e, to Duncan 's room)."Macbeth interprets the dagger as a sign that he shall proceed with his wicked crusade. Consequently, seeing the chimera of a dagger before the murder inspired Macbeth to kill and inherit the

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