The use of Blood as a Motif in William Shakespeare(TM)s Macbeth

The use of Blood as a Motif in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

In William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth, he often and with different meanings uses blood as a motif and develops it until it dominates the play. The usage of blood changes throughout the play along with the transmogrification of Macbeth's character from that of a loyal subject to one of a traitor. The connotation Shakespeare designates to blood shifts from power and honour to death and murder to guilt.

In various parts of Macbeth blood comes to symbolize power. One such place is in the very opening of the play when Duncan sees a sergeant approaching him in the battleground and questions, “What bloody man is that?” (5). The use of blood here signifies the captain’s bravery through his wounded state, showing that even though the captain is wounded he has the courage and strength to come back and report to his King. He delivers reports of triumph and therefore making his “bloody” appearance a symbol of the violence that took place in the battle. The sergeant further goes on to describe Macbeth’s fortitudinous and mettlesome qualities by showing that he too fought on the same grounds “which smoked with bloody execution” (6). This once again illustrates to the audience the verve and puissance that existed in the atmosphere. Similarly, Lady Macbeth demands for fortitude and thew, after hearing the prophecies and begins to conspire the regicide of Duncan, by asking to, “fill me [her] from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty! Make thick my [her] blood;” (18). Shakespeare expands the usage of blood in this context by exploiting the fact that it is a source of life and a vital part to the body and hence serves as a power giving force to it. By thickening her blood, Lady Macbeth believes that she would get courage as now a stronger substance (blood) would flow through her body, therefore, enabling her to become potent. Furthermore, blood is used to epitomize power when Macbeth honors Duncan and by saying that, “His silver skin laced with his golden blood” (36). By comparing Duncan’s blood to gold, Macbeth eulogizes him and his kingship that was unjustly stripped from him. This alludes to the concept of blood being a source of life and power and that any gold item is of a high value and is a prized possession. With this description of Duncan’s “golden blood” (36), the message that he possesses a great and widely-desired power is clearly conveyed.

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Despite the usage of blood with various positive connotations, Shakespeare also attributes to blood the obvious connotations of death and murder. One such place where we can see this attribution given to blood is when Macbeth hallucinates the dagger. He sees that the blade has “gouts of blood, / Which was not so before” (27. The blood on the dagger foreshadows the violence and goriness that is anticipated when he executes his plan to regicide King Duncan. Macbeth goes on to acknowledge that “There’s no such thing. / [and that] It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine [his] eyes” (27). Macbeth refers to the murder as “bloody business” (27) which adds to the sanguinary nature of the heinous crime that he is about to commit. Similarly, Donalbain warns his brother of the lurking danger in terms of, “There’s daggers in men’s smiles; the near’er in blood, / the nearer bloody” (37). The bard cleverly exploits the difference between the meanings of ‘blood’ and ‘bloody’ to convey the eminent threat that the heirs face. This warning issued by Donalbain to his brother, Malcolm employs the word bloody to impart the high possibility of them getting murdered as they are closely related to King Duncan and are also the heir apparent to the throne of Scotland.

The evil deed of regicide becomes too much of a burden on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and unable to bear the cross (guilt) of their sins they are driven to the brink of insanity and perish. The blood represents their crime, and they cannot escape the fruits of their actions. Macbeth realizes that in time he would get what he deserves and questions that whether, “all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my [his] hand? [or would it] rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red” (30). He has the feels an insatiable need of water to clean the blood off his hands and vindicate him of this crime. Shakespeare from this point on, almost always associates blood with the emotion of guilt. In this context blood is used to illustrate the peccant and iniquitous nature to Macbeth’s actions. At this point, Lady Macbeth differs from her husband in this aspect. She believes her conscience would be vindicated at the very moment that her hands cleansed. She tells her husband to have the same beliefs as she or he would be driven to insanity. Ironically, Lady Macbeth is the one that is driven to the brink of lunacy as she commits suicide near the end of Macbeth. She behaves exactly as Macbeth did after murdering King Duncan. She is unable to annul the murder from her memories. While sleepwalking during the night, she is provoked by her very own hands. She is seen by the royal physician muttering, “Out damned spot! Out, I say!” (80) while scrubbing her hands in a bowl of water. This demonstrates that, contrary to what she said earlier, the evil deed is deeply rooted into her conscience. She even claims to recognize the odor of the blood by saying, “Here's the smell of blood still. / All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” (80). She despite advising her husband earlier feels the same insatiable need for perfume to mask the stench as her mind is drawing dreadful picture. The motif of blood in this part Macbeth plays a significant role as it symbolizes the struggle that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth under go to hide their horrid deeds.

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, the way in which Shakespeare uses blood changes throughout the play along with the metamorphosis of Macbeth's character from an allegiant subject to one like Judas. The connotation Shakespeare allocates to blood shifts from power and honour to death and murder to guilt. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go insane with the guilt over the murderous mission for power. The couple, in their destructive power, created their own torment, where they are excruciated by guilt and driven to insanity. The duo sees the guilt stain their hands and find out that it is impossible to exonerate them of the guilt. At the end of this tragedy, Shakespeare successfully establishes Macbeth as an archetype of the famous proverb “Destruction will befall the covetous.”