Themes in Macbeth
Themes in Macbeth Shakespeare implements a number of themes into Macbeth, that enable the audience to have a better understanding of the plot and characters; and also to create an alternate set of ideas and motives to the general play itself. Shakespeare uses soliloquies, asides and a number of other dramatic techniques to add emphasis and further depth to the themes. The major themes are: the corruption of ambition, appearance versus reality, light and dark and guilt and conscience. The 'corruption of ambition' serves as a significant theme in relation to the tragedy of Macbeth and the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The witches seem to be the source of ignition of Macbeth's ambition, as they predict that he will become Thane of Cawdor and later King. This ambition builds as Macbeth is respectively appointed Thane of Cawdor, and later King Duncan's son, Malcolm is appointed Prince of Cumberland, heir to the throne. Shakespeare implements a soliloquy through which the audience is revealed a deep insight into Macbeth's thoughts and ambitions as he establishes that he has a 'vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls on th'other'. Lady Macbeth also portrays here strong ambition for Macbeth's kingship, as he calls on evil spirits to 'unsex' her so that she may persuade and manipulate her husband into murdering Duncan. Their initial ambition leads them to
Key Themes in Macbeth
Key Themes in Macbeth William Shakespeare used themes in his plays and poetry to deepen the meaning of them and to help the reader have another way to compare imagery in the play to what was really happening. Shakespeare's Macbeth includes many cases of metaphorical as well as literal themes. Some examples of these types of themes deal with blood, clothing, illness and medicine, sleep, nature, and the over all mood of the play. There is a mixture of emotional, metaphorical, and literal themes. In many ways the themes in Macbeth are a form of imagery. Blood plays a key role throughout Macbeth. Starting off the second scene, "What bloody man is that?" sets the imagery of blood in motion throughout the play and is a literal image of a dead soldier. Later, after King Duncan's murder, Macbeth explains to Malcolm about the death of his father with the metaphorical phrase, "The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood is stopped: the very source of it is stopped." This is used to portray blood as a symbol of relation. Later, Macbeth uses the more revealing image: "I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er." This image of blood is used in an emotionally metaphorical way of saying that he has done something that is eating away at him so badly that stopping would be the worst thing to do. Many other images of blood appear,
Symbolism and Themes in Macbeth
Although William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth about 400 years ago, the themes he incorporated, for instance, ambition, evil and good, and greed for power are very relevant in today's world. Shakespeare used themes with imagery and symbolism so that those who watched his play could gain a deeper understanding of what was going on in the world around them. Shakespeare brilliantly used themes with imagery and symbolism in MacBeth, along with many of his other writings. Throughout the play, Shakespeare shows various types of imagery and symbolism instances that, eventually, lead to the downfall of the main character, Macbeth. Ambition: Macbeth realized the power he had from his ambition -- wanting more and more. He therefore set out all the reasons he had for not killing Duncan. But Lady Macbeth was more ambitious than her husband. She, being so single-minded, was willing to sacrifice all her human feelings in order to gain power. The outcome of too much ambition was the death of Duncan. This ambition from the beginning leads to the death of Macbeth and his wife. Supernatural: Shakespeare uses the supernatural witches, ghosts, and disturbances of nature for the fascination of human nature. In Shakespeare's day, the audiences would have taken witches very seriously, in which he meant for the witches to be evil in this tragedy. Macbeth seeks some knowledge of his future through the
The symbol of blood in Macbeth
MACBETH ESSAY Macbeth had many symbols, which were linked to the themes in the play. One of the symbols would be blood, and the theme to follow through with it is murder, and the dread associated with murder. A lot of the scenes in the play, involving killing, have blood stated. Blood is a significant symbol, when connected to the theme of killing, and is used as a foreshadowing device as well. The first reference of blood is one of honor, and occurs when Duncan sees the injured sergeant and says, "What bloody man is that?"(Act 1 Sc ii, line 1). This is symbolic of the brave fighter who has been injured in a heroic battle for his country. In the next passage, in which the sergeant says, "Which smok'd with bloody execution"(Act 1 Sc ii, line 18), he is referring to Macbeth's braveness. After that, Shakespeare exploits blood as a symbol, takes place in Act 2, when Macbeth is preparing to kill Duncan. He imagines a dagger, a bloody dagger at that, pointing towards Duncan's room. Macbeth describes it "And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, which was not so before...It is the bloody business which now informs thus to mine eyes." (Act 2, Scene ii, 55-58). In this scene, the blood foreshadows, that Macbeth is about to kill Duncan. It also reflects on his state of mind, where he fears of killing Duncan, because his mind is playing tricks on him. Shakespeare most likely put
analising key themes of Macbeth
Analyzing Key Themes from Macbeth William Shakespeare used themes in his plays and poetry to deepen the meaning of them and to help the reader have another way to compare imagery in the play to what was really happening. Shakespeare's Macbeth includes many cases of metaphorical as well as literal themes. Some examples of these types of themes deal with blood, clothing, illness and medicine, sleep, nature, and the over all mood of the play. There is a mixture of emotional, metaphorical, and literal themes. In many ways the themes in Macbeth are a form of imagery. Blood plays a key role throughout Macbeth. Starting off the second scene, "What bloody man is that?" sets the imagery of blood in motion throughout the play and is a literal image of a dead soldier. Later, after King Duncan's murder, Macbeth explains to Malcolm about the death of his father with the metaphorical phrase, "The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood is stopped: the very source of it is stopped." This is used to portray blood as a symbol of relation. Later, Macbeth uses the more revealing image: "I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er." This image of blood is used in an emotionally metaphorical way of saying that he has done something that is eating away at him so badly that stopping would be the worst thing to do. Many other images of
Analyzing Key Themes from Macbeth
Analyzing Key Themes from Macbeth William Shakespeare used themes in his plays and poetry to deepen the meaning of them and to help the reader have another way to compare imagery in the play to what was really happening. Shakespeare's Macbeth includes many cases of metaphorical as well as literal themes. Some examples of these types of themes deal with blood, clothing, illness and medicine, sleep, nature, and the over all mood of the play. There is a mixture of emotional, metaphorical, and literal themes. In many ways the themes in Macbeth are a form of imagery. Blood plays a key role throughout Macbeth. Starting off the second scene, "What bloody man is that?" sets the imagery of blood in motion throughout the play and is a literal image of a dead soldier. Later, after King Duncan's murder, Macbeth explains to Malcolm about the death of his father with the metaphorical phrase, "The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood is stopped: the very source of it is stopped." This is used to portray blood as a symbol of relation. Later, Macbeth uses the more revealing image: "I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er." This image of blood is used in an emotionally metaphorical way of saying that he has done something that is eating away at him so badly that stopping would be the worst thing to do. Many other images of
Symbolism - Blood In Shakespeare's Macbeth
Symbolism-Blood In Shakespeare's Macbeth In Shakespeare's Macbeth the symbol of blood is used to represent honor, bravery, treason, murder and guilt! The symbol of blood is continuously developed until it becomes the dominating theme of the play. The word "blood," or different forms of it appear forty-two times, throughout the play. Perhaps the best way to show how the symbol of blood changes during the development of the play, is to follow the character changes in Macbeth. At first Macbeth is heralded as brave and honorable, but as the play progresses, he becomes a treacherous person who is identified with death and bloodshed, and shows his guilt in many different forms! The first reference of blood is one of honor, and occurs when Duncan sees the injured sergeant and says "What bloody man is that?".(1.2, 1), This quote is symbolic of the brave fighter who had been injured during the battle for his country. In the next passage the Captain says " . . . Which smok'd with bloody execution, "(1.2, 20), he is referring to Macbeth's braveness in which his sword is covered in the hot blood of the enemy. After these few references to honor, the symbol of blood now changes to show a theme of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth starts this off when she asks the spirits to make her blood thick. What she is asking by this is, that she wants to make herself insensitive and
The symbol of blood in Macbeth
The symbol of blood in Macbeth I am going to prove that in the play Macbeth, a symbol of blood is portrayed often (and with different meanings), and that it is a symbol that is developed until it is the dominating theme of the play towards the end of it. To begin with, I found the word "blood", or different forms of it forty-two times (ironically, the word fear is used forty-two times), with several other passages dealing with the symbol. Perhaps the best way to show how the symbol of blood changes throughout the play, is to follow the character changes in Macbeth. First he is a brave honoured soldier, but as the play progresses, he becomes a treacherous person who has become identified with death and bloodshed and shows his guilt in different forms. The first reference of blood is one of honour, and occurs when Duncan sees the injured sergeant and says "What bloody man is that?". This is symbolic of the brave fighter who been injured in a valiant battle for his country. In the next passage, in which the sergeant says "Which smok'd with bloody execution", he is referring to Macbeth's braveness in which his sword is covered in the hot blood of the enemy. After these few references to honour, the symbol of blood now changes to show a theme of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth starts this off when she asks the spirits to "make thick my blood,". What she is saying by this,
Comparison of the use of Blood and Sleep in Shakespeares Macbeth
Comparison of Blood and Sleep In "Macbeth", the images and themes of blood and sleep are constantly mentioned throughout the play, particularly in Act 2 Scene 2 and in Act 5 Scene 1. The reason for which Shakespeare decided to write the play in this manner was in order to create a symbolic importance of these two motifs. Blood is generally used to represent death, injury and guilt in the play. An effective instance of this is when Lady Macbeth says "I'll gild the faces of the grooms." To gild means to paint with gold, and in heraldry, red and gold are often regarded as equal colours, and so in this case, Lady Macbeth says that she will cover the grooms' faces with blood. This is intended to be a play on words, associating the word "gild" with "guilt", which then causes the theme of blood to represent guilt. The image of sleep is employed to symbolise conscience. Sleep is known to rest the mind and allow it to function properly. "Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care, The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, Chief nourisher in life's feast. This is indicating that nobody can survive without sleep, demonstrated clearly in the character of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is unable to sleep again, because when Macbeth kills Duncan, "Macbeth does murder sleep!" Lady Macbeth is constantly kept awake by her
Blood Imagery in The Tragedy of Macbeth
Blood Imagery in The Tragedy of Macbeth Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth is a story of power and destruction. The two main characters, Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, are driven by ambition to commit evil actions. Lady Macbeth, a more ambitious person than her husband plots to have her husband murder the king of Scotland so that he can take the throne. Macbeth commits more murders to protect his throne, all the while becoming sick with guilt and paranoia. The guilt that engulfs him and his wife lead to their eventual madness. Blood appears everywhere throughout the work and symbolizes many things. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare creates a sinister mood with blood imagery, which creates suspense and helps to resolve the story. Shakespeare uses blood imagery in Act One of Macbeth to create suspense. The opening battle of the story, between Scotland and the Norwegian invaders uses blood imagery to symbolize honor and bravery. Blood symbolizes bravery because the blood spilled is the blood of traitors and not noble men. 'Show'd like a rebel's whore. But all's too weak -- For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name), Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish'd steel, Which smok'd with bloody execution.' The sergeant praises Macbeth for the murder of a traitor, as the king praises the sergeant for his bravery on the battle field. 'So well thy words become thee as thy
