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The Symbolism Of Blood In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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“Blood itself - the color, the smell, and importance - is vital to life and shocking to see.”-Anonymous. Throughout Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, blood plays an important role. Blood represents guilt for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It’s not until after the murder of Duncan that their guilt begins to manifest. In Act 2, scene 2, 18-19, it states, “(looking at his bloody hands) This is a sorry sight. That’s a stupid thing to say...” says Lady Macbeth. We can infer that Macbeth feels remorse and sorrow after seeing the sight of his hands covered with the blood of King Duncan, whom he has just murdered. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth finds it foolish to get all emotional about such a manly deed of courage. Macbeth’s bad conscience, however, cannot be curbed. Although, they both seem to go through serious pain and true regret is also involved. …show more content…

Both start having hallucinations about the murder. Even before committing the crime Macbeth hallucinates and sees a dagger floating. Lady Macbeth cannot get the imagined blood off her hands nor can her husband. Their guilt is all consuming and inescapable. The imagined blood haunts them both, following them until their death. 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

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