Ashvin Muddappa
Mrs. Friedsam
British Literature, 2nd Period
12/1/16
Murder!: The Use of Blood in Macbeth
Many successful leaders in the world today have built their reputation on their education and ability to connect with the people they serve. The mark of a good leader stems from his or her’s ability to have the faith of the people they are serving and to get citizens to believe in their causes. Many poor leaders, who have achieved their power through corrupt means, have struggled with their ability to gain the trust of those around them, thus leading to their downfall. During Shakespearean times, the leader of England was worried about his fate following the murder of several past Kings. In the tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare utilizes the motif of blood to symbolize how guilt can lead to a collapse from power.
Shakespeare attempts to utilize blood to convey the message that guilt can lead to downfall of a leader. Macbeth, a once revered man in his country has his brain poisoned by three witches who confirm to him that he will one day reign ever-powerful. As a result, Macbeth, under the influence of the supernatural, goes on a rampage of murders, thus revealing his apprehension about his actions: “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 / Thus to mine eyes” (2.1.47-480). Macbeth hallucinates of a dagger with “gouts of blood” floating in the direction of Duncan’s room. As a once honorable person, Macbeth feels apprehension prior to committing to the murder of Duncan. This apprehension contributes to his lack of faith in others. Showing a lack faith in others, and living in constant fear can help lead to a downfall from power. This apprehension and constant fear also forces Macbeth into murdering more of his friends, such as Banquo. After Macbeth kills Banquo, he faces an encounter with Banquo’s ghost, a moment in which his ineptitude as a leader shows. He feels guilt as he sees the ghost of Banquo, prompting him to say, “Thou canst not say I did it: never shake / Thy gory locks at me” (3.4.45-46). In this case “gory locks” is a symbol for the blood all over Banquo as his ghost approaches Macbeth. Macbeth’s guilt shines through his rhetoric displayed by his self-accusatory tone in saying “Thou canst not say I did it”. The tone he uses further exhibits the apprehension also shown prior to killing Duncan. Macbeth’s lust for power contributes to his guilt and fear which in turn leads to his progression from an honored soldier to a tyrant to his death.
While blood symbolizes a form of guilt when speaking about Macbeth, his wife, Lady Macbeth gives blood a dynamic definition, as Shakespeare uses blood to exhibit how Lady Macbeth falls from a position of power. When Lady Macbeth first learns that it is Macbeth’s fate to become the King of his land, she becomes power-hungry and carves out a plan to get her and Macbeth in power as soon as possible: “Make thick my blood / Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse / That no compunctions visitings of nature, / Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between / th’ effect it” (1.5.50-54). Lady Macbeth’s initial reaction to blood is fairly nonchalant as she says “Make thick my blood,” insinuating that she hopes to be stronger. This aspiration to be stronger stems from her desire for Macbeth to kill Duncan. For Lady Macbeth, blood takes on the connotation of strength and power. She hopes for her blood to remain strong through her quest to omnipotence and questions the thickness of her husband’s blood, wondering whether he is strong enough to carry out the demands she has of him. Ironically, Lady Macbeth has a complete opposite encounter with blood later in the play. At one point near the end of the play, Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking and is physically incapable of washing blood off of her hand, as it simply will not come off: “Out, damned spot! out, I say! — One; two: why, then / ‘tis time to do’t. — Hell is murky.–Fie my lord, fie a soldier…The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? / What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (5.1.25-26, 30-31). Lady Macbeth’s inability to remove the blood from her hands symbolizes her inability to remove the guilt from her conscience. Blood has changed definitions from one of power to one of guilt. Her attitude towards murder has changed. She is now more fearful toward blood and that in turn contributed to her guilty conscience. She questions herself, wondering, “will these hands ne’er be clean?” By saying her hands will never be clean, she assumes that the guilt from the crimes will remain on her hands indefinitely. This guilt contributes to her downfall.
The death of Lady Macbeth caps her metamorphosis from an honorable woman in society to a guilt-ridden leader. Macduff kills Macbeth in the final scene of the play, thus making Malcolm the King. Malcolm remarks on Lady Macbeth’s death once he assumes the crown: “Producing forth the cruel ministers / Of this dead butcher and his fiendlike queen, / Who, as ‘tis thought, by self and violent hands / Took of her life” (5.8.69-72). Malcolm insinuates that Lady Macbeth has taken her own life by way of suicide. The same “violent hands,” from which she is unable to remove blood, end up killing her own guilt-ridden self. Lady Macbeth’s death shows how guilt leads to the downfall of a leader, as she changes from a powerful queen to one who feels enormously guilty enough to take her own life. Also experiencing a downfall from power was Lady Macbeth’s husband Macbeth. In the final scene of Macbeth, the tyrant is resigned to the fact that he will be killed by Macduff. His newfound confidence and arrogance is quelled and accepts the fact that his downfall is near: “Accursed be the tongue that tells me so, / For it hath cowed my better part of man! / And be these juggling fiends no more believed, / That player with us in a double sense, / That keep the word of promise to our ear, / And break it to our hope. I’ll not fight with thee.” (5.8.17-22). Macbeth’s tyranny and reign over the land is near its end. When he finds out that fate has determined that Macduff will be the one to kill him, he has lost his confidence and feels as though Macduff has “cowed my better part of man!” Macbeth acceptance of his destiny confirms that he has taken a full circle from using inhumane methods to gain the crown to his guilt leading to his downfall from power. Macbeth’s guilt stems from the three witches who have played with his conscience and tricked him into believing all of the prophecies that they told him. He even says, “And be these juggling fiends no more believed, / That player with us in a double sense,” leading him to realize that he was conned by the witches the entire time. The guilt he feels from this allows him to completely accept his death, which seals his downfall from a position of power.
Shakespeare statement of guilt leading to a downfall from a position of power has been seen outside of the play as well by several real life leaders. While there are many leaders who have earned their power based on merit, several currently in a position of power have used various outside methods to gain their power. Often times these corrupt methods are not nearly as extreme as Shakespeare’s example of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. However, many leaders have either been forced to resign or simply impeached due to their lack of prowess as a leader or due to guilt as a result of a wrongdoing or corruption.
Works Cited:
Shakespeare, William, and Alfred Harbage. Macbeth. Baltimore: Penguin. 1971. Print.