Blood as an Indicator: Carnage, Imagery, and Character Development in 'Macbeth' Kaitlyn Barkley College

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is filled to the brim with images of various sorts from nature to darkness to blood. It is near impossible to read a page from the script without coming across imagery of some kind or another. Because his writing seems so deliberate, it becomes possible to read into the imagery to discern what Shakespeare might have been trying to imply about his characters. The imagery of blood in Macbeth is indicative of the characters’ attitudes towards the heinous acts that they commit.

Imagery of blood is in abundance in Macbeth. It is present in thirty-nine lines that spread across all five acts (Open). In the second scene of the first act, there are two references to blood. “What bloody man is that?” (King 1.2.1) and “For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name- \ Disdaining Fortune with his brandished steel, \ Which smoked with bloody execution” (Captain 1.2.18-20). Both of these quotes are talking about Macbeth who was an incredible soldier. The blood imagery continues throughout the play. In Act 3, Macbeth says, “Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold” (3.4.96). Macbeth says this to the ghost of Banquo who had just been murdered at Macbeth’s order. The imagery of blood is even present in the final...