Symbolism in MacBeth Essay

Ashes to Ashes, Blood to Blood

These deeds must not be thoughtAfter these ways; so, it will make us mad (2.1.32-33). Which means, to think and dwell on your questionable deeds can make a man go crazy. In the play Macbeth, this is a recurring theme throughout one of Shakespeares most famous tragedies. Many motifs contributed to the theme but none was more frequent than blood. Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeths guilt is exposed through images of blood. This guilty conscience causes serious mistakes, such as killing Banquo and MacDuffs family, which eventually leads to Macbeth going mad and eventually to his death at the hands of MacDuff.

In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses copious amounts of blood to add a sense of fear, guilt, shame, insanity, and anger to the atmosphere. The use of blood allows the audience to see how brutally Duncan was killed, and how hard it is for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to handle the guilt of their actions. This blood imagery adds to the guilt-ridden theme because the characters are driven to lunacy when they see the blood of Duncan and others on their own hands. This makes Macbeth react to the people closest to him in an unnatural way, and since they are all kept inside, these feelings make Macbeth totally start to hallucinate.Is this a dagger which I see before me,The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. (2.1.33-34) This dagger is the image Macbeth sees right before he kills Duncan. This image is not really there, yet it makes Macbeth concerned. Seconds later Macbeth says, and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood...Which was not so before. (2.1.46-47), there was blood on that imaginary dagger. The bloody dagger becomes a mark, like a blight, on Macbeths sanity and along with his endless guilt, causes him to hallucinate other things as well until eventually he grows mad.

The evil deed of murdering the king becomes too much of a burden on Lady Macbeth and her husband. The blood symbolizes their crime, and since it seemingly cannot be removed it means they cannot escape the sin of their actions. Macbeth realizes that in time he would get what he deserves. Macbeth cannot rid himself of his guilt by cleaning the blood away; his fate was sealed the moment he plunged the dagger into Duncan. Macbeth and his wife both try to use water to hide their misdeeds, but Macbeth says that all the water in the ocean could not cleanse his hands.Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this bloodClean from my hand? ( 2.2.57-58) The figurative blood on his hands didnt seem to be coming off even though his hands were literally washed clean. It appears that way to Macbeth because his guilty conscience is trying to tell him that what he did was wrong. He ignors the signs and acquires three murderers to kill Banquo for him because the witches prophesized that Banquo would father future kings, which then adds to his score sheet of murders and guilt.

Later when Macbeth is called to dine with his fellow lords and Lady Macbeth he sees that his seat is already taken but not with a person, with Banquos ghost which only Macbeth can see. Never shake thy gory locks at me. (3.4.50) Macbeth screams out to the ghost of his recently murdered friend. The blood that covered Banquos face and body was ordered shed by Macbeth and Macbeth would now have to see what he had done to his second in command. This scene helps to develop the plot because each one of the lords goes to bed that night with great misgivings about their king, more than they had the night before.

Later in the play the focus is placed on Lady Macbeth and the irony of her madness. The doctor and gentlewoman both fear for Lady Macbeths sanity. She has been sleepwalking and doing many things as if she were awake, such as scrubbing her hands repeatedly yet her senses are dead to the world. One night they are watching her and they hear her talk to herself. Heres the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. (5.1.50-52). Unwittingly, Lady Macbeth confesses to the crimes committed by her spouse and herself to the two observers hidden in the dark of the night. The doctor senses that she is not healthy, mentally, and tells the gentlewoman to keep her in close sight and to not let her close to any dangerous objects. Despite those efforts, Lady Macbeth commits suicide sometime later. The irony of her madness is that in the beginning Lady Macbeth criticized Macbeth for feeling guilty for murdering Duncan. Near the end it is Lady Macbeth who feels guilt and remorse and Macbeth who has no qualms about spilling the blood of even more people to keep himself in power.

The symbol of blood in Macbeth plays a significant role. It represents the efforts Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go through to cover up the crimes they have commited. They imagine that the blood never leaves their hands, and the truth of what they did never escapes their minds. The crime of murder carries a guilt that neither one could discharge. Although Macbeth thought he found happiness as the king, his guilt dug him into an even deeper hole of unhappiness, leading him to kill Banquo, MacDuffs wife and son, and young Siward as well. The endless guilt causes Lady Macbeth to take her own life and leads Macbeth down a path of arrogance and paranoia until eventually he too was killed.