Blood Imagery in The Tragedy of MacbethShakespeare'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

surgeons.' As Macbeth and his wife plot the murder of Duncan, they plan to smear the blood of the king on his chamberlains. They hope the blood will make the chamberlains appear guilty. 'When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two of his own chamber, and us'd their very daggers, that they have done't?' Macbeth knows, though, that he cannot hide his guilt from himself. He calls the plans 'bloody instructions, which being taught, return to plague th' inventor.' Macbeth feels remorse for the murder he commits. His speech suggests that Macbeth knows the murder will lead to evil. Shakespeare uses blood imagery in Act Two in order to create a sinister mood. As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin their murderous expedition, they begin to feel guilt. Before murdering Duncan, the king of Scotland, they both feel guilty. Macbeth begins seeing things which symbolize his remorse. On his way to murder Duncan, he sees a bloody dagger with the point directed at Duncan and the handle to Macbeth. 'And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, which was not so before. There's no such thing: It is the bloody business which informs.' Lady Macbeth shows her fear and guilt by creating an excuse for why she did not kill Duncan herself. 'Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done't.' The guilt the two feel before killing Duncan foreshadows the immense guilt that consumes them after the murder. The blood Macbeth has on his hands from murdering the King represent the guilt he feels. It is a reminder of his evil deed. 'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?' A more determined Lady Macbeth attempts to convince her husband that 'A little water clears us of this deed.' Shakespeare uses blood imagery to also symbolize life. As Macbeth pretends to see Duncan's dead body for the first time, he says 'The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood is stopp'd, the very source of it is stopped.' Blood imagery in Act Two focuses on the death of Duncan, as it continues to plague Macbeth and his wife. In Act Three blood imagery is used to create suspense. The murders Macbeth is responsible for continue to plague his conscience. He orders the murder of Banquo and becomes more consumed by remorse and paranoia. When the men Macbeth ordered to kill Banquo return, the blood on one of their faces symbolizes his guilt. 'There's blood upon thy face.' This does not, however, rid Macbeth of the culpability he feels for ordering the murder. Macbeth, while at a feast, sees the ghost of Banquo. He tries to defend himself to the guilt inspired vision 'Thou canst not say I did it, never shake thy gory locks at me.' Macbeth dives deeper into guilt enthused madness. Macbeth attempts to justify his murderous actions by claiming that they were done all the time in the olden time. 'Blood hath been shed ere now, i' th' olden time, ere humane statue purg'd the gentle weal -- aye, and since too, murthers have been perform'd.' Macbeth becomes so paranoid that me tries to convince himself that his murders were justified. His madness leads to his eventual destruction Shakespeare creates a sinister mood through the use of blood imagery in Act Four. In Act Four, Macbeth seeks the counsel of witches. The present to him prophesies in the form of apparitions. The apparitions are somewhat confusing to Macbeth and give him a sense of false security. In the second apparition a bloody child appears saying, 'Be bloody, bold, and resolute: laugh to scorn the pow'r of man -- for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.' The bloody child not 'of woman born,' symbolizes Macduff and his birth by cesarean section. Macbeth assumes he should fear no one, because everyone is born of woman. The apparitions act as symbols that foreshadow the way the prophecies will be fulfilled. While discussing the danger Scotland is in while Macbeth is ruling, Malcolm personifies Scotland, and the injuries it will sustain while under Macbeth's power. 'It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash is added to her wounds.' In this act, Macbeth also orders the murders of Macduff's family. It is an unnecessary murder, and further illustrates the madness Macbeth has brought on by guilt and paranoia. Shakespeare uses blood imagery in Act Five to resolve the story. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth keeps her determination and wits. In the last Act, the effects of the guilt she feels begin to show. Lady Macbeth is unable to sleep peacefully as a result of the burden she carries. Macbeth hears a voice while killing Duncan that says, 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murther sleep.' This foreshadows Lady Macbeth's inability to sleep without guilty fits. While sleeping, Lady Macbeth sees and smells blood. 'Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.' Lady Macbeth sees the blood of Duncan on her hands, and is unable to remove it. This symbolizes her inability to discard the guilt she feels for the murder. 'Out, damned spot -- out, I say . . . who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?' As Macbeth faces Macduff in battle, he feels a toll on his conscience. 'Of all men else I have avoided thee. But get thee back, my soul is too much charg'd with blood of thine already.' This illustrates Macbeth's remorse and regret for having murdered Macduff's family. Macduff murders Macbeth, ending his murderous journey with his murder. This helps to resolve the story. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare creates a sinister mood with blood imagery, which creates suspense and helps to resolve the story. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go insane with the guilt over the murderous mission for power. Ambition led to their destruction when they became greedy and violent. The couple, in their destructive power, created their own torment, where they are plagued by guilt and insanity. Blood was a consistent symbol of the guilt felt by Macbeth and his wife. They saw it stained on their hands, and smelled it on their skin. The blood, along with the guilt could not be erased from their hands. Destruction falls upon the too ambitious.