Throughout history, blood has been a powerful symbol to show the cruelty of one’s actions. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the blood of the crimes is used to represent the guilty conscience that the Macbeth’s face, only worsening as the play goes on. This story demonstrates the guilt of the Macbeth’s through the bloody dagger that is shown before Macbeth makes up his mind about killing Duncan. Macbeth also alludes to Neptune’s oceans turning red instead of ridding the blood on their hands after the murder of the king was complete. Finally, Lady Macbeth becomes consumed by the guilt and the staining of blood on her hands. Shakespeare uses blood to symbolize the Macbeth’s guilty consciences growing throughout the story, ultimately leading them to their own destruction.
Macbeth’s first feeling of guilt is when he is about to commit the murder of King Duncan. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth is hesitant of the crime he is about to commit, and starts hallucinating a dagger pointing to Duncan’s room. Macbeth then starts to see blood dripping down the dagger: “On thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, / Which was not so before” (2.1.46-47). The blood on the dagger represents his guilt towards his actions he knows will occur after the murder is complete. This hallucination shows the significance of this crime and how guilty Macbeth will feel, causing him start to panic and second guess himself. His guilt has taken shape of the bloody dagger which will be what the murder weapon will look like after he kills Duncan, foreshadowing his guilt and regret. Macbeth then starts to reassure himself that it isn’t real and he isn’t doing anything wrong by stating “There’s no such thing: / It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes” (2.1.47-48). This shows that is just his imagination trying to talk him out of continuing with his plan by symbolizing the guilt that will come with this action, through the bloody dagger. Having the blood imagery in this scene show the significance that the murder has on Macbeth, and demonstrates his character. Showing how he is very frightened with the thought of killing his friend Duncan, and the guilt is already starting to takeover his thoughts. Macbeth’s guilt is symbolized by the image of blood signifying his fear and impulsivity caused by his actions.
Macbeth becomes consumed with guilt and regret after the murder of King Duncan is complete. Macbeth looks down at his hands in shock to realize the blood of Duncan is all over his hands and the daggers. Macbeth is overwhelmed with his emotions and the guilt has started to worsen and take over his every thought. Macbeth’s character has completely changed from a heroic and noble soldier, to a guilty and remorseful traitor. Once Macbeth notices the blood on his hands he implies that the murder was such a horrid action that not even all of Neptune’s oceans can rid the blood off his hand. He says:
Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No: this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red (2.2. 63-66).
Alluding to Neptune, the god of the seas that the crime was so guiltworthy that trying to wash off all the blood, will end up staining the seas red, reinforcing Macbeth’s guilty conscience. After the murder, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are guilty, even though Lady Macbeth didn’t do the killing herself. The blood on her hands show how she is equally at fault for the murder and they are both held responsible. Lady Macbeth tries to help Macbeth pull himself together by stating: “My hands are of your color, but I shame / To wear a heart so white” (2.2. 67-68). Demonstrating their guilty partnership but also criticizing Macbeth’s character and his inability to face the crime he’s committed and accept the consequences and guilt of his actions. The bloody hands further display how Macbeth’s guilt is starting to takeover his thoughts, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt is starting to form.
After each of Macbeth’s crimes were committed, Lady Macbeth’s character starts to change. At the beginning of act five, she starts to become restless and is sleepwalking in the middle of the night, reliving the murders she caused. Lady Macbeth scrambles to try and rid the blood that has stained her hands. Although the blood is not truly on her hands at this point, the guilt is what she is trying to wash off. Relating to the previous point, with the Macbeth’s having their hands stained with blood, this is now Lady macbeth trying to free herself from her own thoughts. As she is washing her hands she questions how one person can have so much blood: “Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (5.1. 34-35). Reinforcing how the amount of blood represents the amount of guilt she has. Lady Macbeth is now totally consumed by her guilt and regrets her role partaking in the murders. Lady Macbeth, like Macbeth, starts to hallucinate the blood. Her guilt and regret is so strong that she believes she can smell the blood that’s on her hands and nothing can rid her of it: “Here’s the smell of blood still: All the perfumes of / Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” (5.1. 44-45) Reinforcing how strong her guilt is towards each crime. Thus ultimately leading Lady Macbeth to take her own life due to not being able to stand the guilt and regret she must face everyday. As the murders went on their was more and more blood creating more and more guilt for both of the Macbeths.
The guilt of the Macbeth’s are so strong that it leads them to their own destruction due to the crimes they committed. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s crimes progressively became worse and worse. Each murder got bloodier as they progressed and the guilt grew each time. The guilt started before Macbeth kills Duncan, he hallucinated a bloody dagger representing the guilt Macbeth will face after he goes through with his plan. The guilt worsened between the Macbeths after the murder of king Duncan was complete, the Macbeth’s believed that their hands would be stained red and not even Neptune’s oceans can rid them of the blood. Lastly the guilt in Lady Macbeth was so strong she took her own life due to all the blood that came with each of the murders, and their was not anything she could do to rid herself of her guilt. Shakespeare uses blood to show how due to their crimes, the guilt would takeover and lead them to their own destruction. Each murder haunted the Macbeths and their guilt was just too much for them to cope with, leaving both of them with their own bloody endings.