Macbeth is one of the plays written by Shakespeare that is set in Scotland. The play is a tragedy that shows the political and psychological effect when evil mechanisms are employed to achieve political ambitions. There are several motifs in the play; they include weather and blood among others. This essay evaluates the money in which the motif of blood is employed in the play.
The major idea in the play is the killing of King Duncan that occurs in the second scene. In the scene, Kind Duncan yells “What bloody man is that?” (Shakespeare I, ii, 1). This occurs as he refers to a soldier who has just come from a battle. The soldier elaborates to the King about the performance of Macbeth during the battle that makes the audience to assume that Macbeth is as bloody as the soldier. The soldier’s description of Macbeth during the battles as being “Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel. Which smoked with bloody execution” (Shakespeare, I, ii, 17-18). These two line are a reflection of the manner in which Macbeth is linked to killing and forecasts his future actions. The immorality of killing King Duncan is such a yoke to Macbeth. Blood in the play represents the vices of killing one another in the play, a crime that one has to pay for. Blood is a symbol for guilt as the Macbeths feel guilt to such a extent that they cannot be cleaned “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood . Clean from my hand?” (Shakespeare, I, ii, 58-59). Macbeth’s guilt is evident as he tries to wash his hands off the blood.
The motif blood is effectively used to show guilt among the characters in the play. It appears to create a permanent stain in one’s life until one dies. Through the motif, Shakespeare is able to reveal the major theme of the evils linked to political ambitions.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. NY: the New York Public Library.
