... It is these actions that allow both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth to suffer severe consequences. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the imagery of blood is employed to employed to emphasized both Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's state of guilt. This is significant because it enables the reader to understand the ultimate downfall of both characters. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth guilt is apparent when Macbeth kills the king (Duncan), hallucinates over Banquo ... 's ghost and Lady Macbeth's inability to sleep. Blood represents guilt, as it is a significant form of imagery in the play. Blood also represents murde...

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... role of queen posses, and hints that all her actions were meaningless thereby implying remorseful feelings. Another crucial indication of her guilt is visible in Act Five, Scene 1 when Lady Macbeth is wondering around in a trance state appearing to be sleep walking. It is at this point in time where we indisputably learn of her deepest regrets and guilt. This is ... "Out, damned spot" (V, I, 32) suggesting that she is unable to wash the blood off her hands. These actions play a central role in the reinforcement of another theme: appearance versus reality (Lady Macbeth appears to be wide...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... persona she adopts fails to shadow the insecurities of her conscience, conflicting with her strong will to murder the king. The determination and strength Lady Macbeth possesses is expressed through her powerful soliloquy. In her ruthlessness she cries, "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be What thou art ... them, "You wait on nature's mischief". However, she consciously knows the choices she is making, shown through her vulnerability. The evil persona Lady Macbeth tries to adopt can be seen in the alliteration she uses, such as "murdering ministers" and "sightless substances". The l...

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... word "Come- which is addressed to darker powers. At this stage in the play, the audience feels somewhat intimidated and frightened of Lady Macbeth's domineering presence. Lady Macbeth calls upon evil to serve her with murderous thoughts and thus take away her femininity and all weakness. The fact that she wants ... spirits to replace the milk in her breasts, symbolising health and goodness with gall, illustrates her bitterness and deep desires to become masculine. Lady Macbeth no longer wants feelings of humanity that may disturb her intentions and stop her from carrying them out. This ...

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... for his courageous killing of Macdonwald. The symbolism of blood switches from courage to evil before Duncan is murdered. While waiting for the signal from Lady Macbeth, Macbeth hallucinates and sees a bloody dagger leading him to Duncan's room. "And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood, Which were ... always contain this enormous amount of guilt. After the murders have been committed, the meaning of blood transitions even more to guilt. Lady Macbeth changes from being ready to kill anybody to being resentful and scared of what will happen to her in the future. It is revealed ... ...

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... in order to meet his fate or was it inevitable that certain things would occur? A third and final question that persisted throughout the play was the uncertainty of Lady Macbeth's feelings towards the murders. Did Lady Macbeth's guilt lead to compassion for the victims, thus showing that she did indeed have a conscience or was she purely evil, feeling no remorse at all throughout the ... should not murder Duncan, describing his loyalty and appreciation for the king. Lady Macbeth bluntly states that Duncan must be murdered and tells Macbeth that the murder is a test of his manhood, leavi...

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... that Duncan resembles her father, so she leaves the murder up to Macbeth. Macbeth leaves the room to kill Duncan, and then reenters covered in blood. Lady Macbeth orders Macbeth to wash up, and then return the weapons to the crime scene. Macbeth refuses, so Lady Macbeth is left to do the deed herself. She calls her husband a ... coward, and scolds him for not completing the plan the way in which they decided on before hand. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are both very panicky, and when they hear the knocking on the door, they being to speed the process up, and they start to worry ... about be...

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... would comeback for revenge. Ultimately, evil is what ends Macbeth's Life. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's devotion to evil was their downfall, and it impacted their spirit. The guilt they collect impacts them differently, and it becomes Lady Macbeth's ruination. Lady Macbeth chooses to commit suicide because she could not bear her guilt. Macbeth loses his allegiances because of his hallucinations and guilt. ... The disruption that Macbeth caused to Scotland's citizens brings vengeance upon him, because succeeding evil produces enemies and demolishes ... bothered them even though they hid it,...

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... of greatness' and that he has no secrets from her. The witches' prophecies intensify her ambitions for her husband, to be the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth is the one who encourages him to kill the king and she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself. We see how clever she ... attend it." She also knows that she will have to use all her powers of persuasion to control and manipulate Macbeth into the murder. The audience is left in no doubt about Lady Macbeth's determination when she asks the spirits to make her masculine 'unsex me here' and make her completely evil:...

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... is foreshadowed in the first act. She is willing to do anything to have her husband seize the throne. As she is waiting for the arrival of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth gives a speech that describes her drive for her husband. "Come you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,/ And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top- ... to reach her breaking point after she finishes her task. It is not until Act V that the reader is able to clearly see Lady Macbeth's insanity. The act opens with a doctor speaking to Lady Macbeth's gentlewoman about her reoccurring sleep walks. Lady Macbeth the...

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... duty to protect the king rather than to murder him. But as a result of Lady Macbeth's persistence, he goes ahead with Duncan's murder, which increases Macbeth's guilt and begins his downward spiral psychologically. While Macbeth is waiting for Lady Macbeth to give him the signal to proceed with the murder, Macbeth's feelings of guilt for the crime he is soon to commit cause him to see ... go against his conscience, but he has already "stepped in so far" that he cannot get away anymore. As the story progresses Lady Macbeth and Macbeth become increasingly mentally unstable due to the guilt...

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... asks that no natural occurrences, which would or have the ability to stop her from her tasks through way of bringing guilt on her, occur. Lady Macbeth, with the help of darkness, will do whatever it takes to satisfy her needs. Despite the pleas to supernatural powers, compunctious visitings of nature ... do exactly what they are asked not to do. Lady Macbeth's stone heart and ruthless nature is punctured by compunctious visitings in her sleep that make her so sick she no longer has the ability to ... "er be clean? Here's the smell of blood still. All The perfumes of Arabia will not sweet...

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... of King Duncan. When Lady Macbeth heard of this news she was indifferent. Lady Macbeth wants more. She has high ambitions for Macbeth and she triggers her husband's lust for the throne. Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth into killing King Duncan by harassing him with his weaknesses. Without her, Macbeth wouldn't have killed Duncan so Lady Macbeth was more superstitious and power hungry than Macbeth in the beginning. Lady Macbeth's ambition starts Macbeth's search for power ... . Also, the three witches play a vast role in Macbeth's eventual downfall. Their prophecy informs Macbeth that he wi...

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... Banquo does refer to them, therefore making them real characters. Macbeth himself appears a dynamic, bold almost admirable character until his thoughts are widened even more by the influence of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is insistent upon acting on the foretelling. Unlike Macbeth who is confused and unsure about his loyalty to the king, Lady Macbeth seems to be a domineering and naturally evil character. He ... forcefulness and persuasion eventually wins Macbeth over. At this stage Lady Macbeth seems cold, emotionless and lacking any conscience. However as ... would he have done the dee...

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... the play. Another example of bloods use as a symbol was Act 2, Scene ii. The symbol of blood was now used to show deceit and betrayal. Lady Macbeth starts this off when she asks the spirits to "Make thick my blood." What she is saying by this is that she wants to make herself numb ... says "Smear the sleepy grooms withe blood." and "If he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt." Lady Macbeth doesn't know that blood would become her worst enemy, in the long run, so as a reader we could kind of foreshadow, what would happen here on in ... "Out damn...

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... Shakespeare's depiction of women in this play shows how manipulating they can become when they lack physical strength. Both the witches and Lady Macbeth played key roles in shaping Macbeth into a power hungry tyrant. But the blame for the murders cannot be places solely on one person for each one was guilty ... was so heartless that she planned on framing innocent men for the murder of the king showing her masculine thoughts in this woman's body. Lady Macbeth knew that her husband would talk himself out of the plan and so she manipulated him by questioning his manhood and calling him a...

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... "Make thick my blood." As thin blood was seen as a symbol of wholesomeness, Lady Macbeth wishes to be evil. Macbeth and his wife then scheme to avert blame to the innocent, planning to "[mark] with blood those sleepy two." When Macbeth brings back the bloody dagger after performing the "bloody business," Lady Macbeth goes to spread Duncan's blood on the "grooms withal," further showing the effort ... if all of the water in the ocean can "wash this blood / Clean from my hand." Remorsefully, Macbeth realizes that there is too much blood to be washed away; instead, the blood will color the...

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... dramatic irony to get this overlying theme of betrayal. In the beginning of Macbeth, three witches portray Macbeth's future by telling him he will become Thane of Cawdor, and then King of Scotland. When Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth begins to believe the witches are telling the truth. Macbeth tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, about this coincidence which then begins the unwinding trail of events that ... lead to Macbeth's downfall. Macbeth is a trusted soldier, trusted by his army and by his king but Lady Macbeth, as well as the need for power that ... he continues to go on to k...

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... me." The guests, confused by his behavior, think that he is ill, but Lady Macbeth tells her guests that Macbeth has had theses attacks since he was a child and it will soon pass. She urges Macbeth to resume his role as host. When the ghost appears again, Macbeth loses control and Lady Macbeth fears he will confess to the murder of Duncan. When the guests begin to ... question Macbeth about his visions, Lady Macbeth sends them all away, saying her husband's health is becoming worse. This banquet scene ... expression of his inner conflicts. Shakespeare purposely set this scene up with an...

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... after he has killed Duncan, even as his wife scolds him and says that a little water will do the job of cleaning it off. Later, though, Lady Macbeth's guilt begins to show as she comes to share his horrified sense of being stained. As she wonders through the castle sleepwalking at night, she says aloud, "Out, damned spot! ... Out, I say Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?" (V. 1. 30-34). Lady Macbeth's hallucinations of blood on her hands and her constant efforts to wash it off reveal that the agony of having guilty feelings is causing her to go insa...

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... the hot blood of the enemy. After these few references to honour, the symbol of blood now changes to show a theme of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth starts this off when she asks the spirits to "make thick my blood,". What she is saying by this, is that she wants to make herself ... insensitive and remorseless for the deeds which she is about to commit. Lady Macbeth knows that the evidence of blood is a treacherous symbol, and knows it will deflect the guilt from her and Macbeth to the servants when she says "smear the sleepy grooms with blood.", and "If he do ... It is the bloody ...

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... which his sword is covered in the blood of the enemy. The symbol of blood now changes to show a theme of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth starts this off when she asks the spirits to "make thick my blood,". What she is saying by this, is that she wants to ... make herself insensitive and remorseless for the deeds which she is about to commit. Lady Macbeth knows that the evidence of blood is a treacherous symbol, and knows it will deflect the guilt from her and Macbeth to the servants when she says "smear the sleepy grooms with blood.", and "If he do bleed, ... "It is the bloody busine...

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Lady Macbeth is a controversial figure. She is seen by some as a woman of strong will who is ambitious for herself and who is astute enough to recognise her husband's strenghts and ... the unnatural murder of Duncan and the alienation of her husband. She is seen as simple and realistic where Macbeth is complicated and imaginative. She can see what must be done; he visualises the consequence. There is a vast difference between Macduff's "O gentle Lady 'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak The repetition in a woman's ear Would murder as it ... fell." ACT II, Sc.ii and Malcolm's assessment...

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... the trap of believing that others can control the way he acts. However, this wisdom begins to fade away. As Lady Macbeth pressures him by questioning his manhood, he seriously begins to silence the conscience wailing inside of him by making excuses. Macbeth allows himself to believe that murdering Duncan is destiny, that it must be done, and even that he would be ... beginning of the play. How could he justify his horrific actions to the world, and to himself? Of course, the way is to deflect all thoughts of responsibility. It was Lady Macbeth that convinced him to commit the murder, it...

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... monologue is available only to the reader. Such thoughts of his guilt and remorse are expressed through his discussions with Lady Macbeth, his unconscious reactions to Banquo's ghost and the "tomorrow and tomorrow" speech. Scotland makes accusations through Banquo's soliloquy and the nobles speaking of ... country believes he is covered in blood yet the reader is the only one who understands his reactions towards the deeds he has committed. Like a child, Macbeth attempts to run away from his problems, yet he has no where to go. "I am afraid to think what I have done", reveals his inabilit...

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