| This webpage on the theme of blood in Macbeth was done by Sarah C., Andrea M., Gisele D., and Marie G. |
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Blood and Violence
| Characters | Mood | Plot | Imagery | Modern Relevance |
The use of blood and violence in Macbeth is a dominant element in the play. Blood is the result of the violence in the play. The brutality in the play is caused by Macbeth attempting to fulfill the prophecy of him becoming king.
Characters
Mood
There are many ways in which you could describe the mood in the play Macbeth. The beginning of the play evokes an eerie/unknown mood. The witches enter on the moor with lightning and thunder making them seem creepy, almost evil with the description that Macbeth gives to them. (Act 1, Scene 3)
Plot
There are many plots which can be found in the play. The main plot is started when Lady Macbeth thought that her husband would be better fitted to the role of king. After much deliberation, they come to the conclusion that Macbeth should kill Duncan so that he would become king. After Macbeth's crowning as new king, he plots to also kill Banquo, and his son Fleance, because the witches told Banquo that his offspring would become king. Macbeth then sends murderers to kill all inhabitants of Macduff's home. After it was revealed that Macbeth that was behind all of the killing, Malcolm, Macduff, Old Siward and their army, go to Dunsinane to take revenge upon Macbeth for his wrongdoing.
Imagery
There are many ways in which imagery is used in the play. One of the main ways is through the lines that the characters themselves say. A good example of imagery is in Act 1, Scene 3 when the first witch says " I'll drain him dry as hay: " . The line in Act 2, Scene 1 where Macbeth says " And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, " gives us, the reader, a mental picture of a daggers with blood on it. In Act 2, Scene 2 when Lady Macbeth says "The sleepy grooms with blood." it gives an image of the guards asleep with blood all over them from killing Duncan. When Macbeth says the lines "You are, and do not know't: The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood Is stopp'd." in Act 2, Scene 3, it makes you think about the heart as the fountain of your blood and it as being stopped, therefore the heart not beating anymore. "Here lay Duncan, His silver skin lac'd with his golden blood; And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature" This line (Act 2, Scene 3) gives the idea of Duncan laying there his body covered with blood and his stab wounds looked unnatural, something that would not be seen. In the line "We hear our bloody cousins are bestow'd In England and in Ireland, not confessing" from Act 3, Scene 1, suggests that Malcolm, and Donalbain murdered their father, King Duncan.
Modern Relevance of the Blood theme
| This webpage on the theme of blood in Macbeth was done by Sarah C., Andrea M., Gisele D., and Marie G. |
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