Реферат: Shakespeare Essay Research Paper Blood Imagrey in
contrast to what blood meant earlier in the play. Blood, once seen as a
positive value, is now associated with evil. This imagery also shows the
beginning of Macbeth?s character transformation from a personage of
nobility, honesty, and bravery to that of treachery, deceit, and evil. After
Macbeth murders Duncan, he begins to realize the severity of his crime as he
tries to wash Duncan?s blood off his hands, ?Will all great Neptune?s ocean
wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No; this hand will rather / The
multitudinous seas incarnadine, / Making the green one red.? (Act II, Scene
2, Lines 71-75) This passage illustrates the act of murder has changed
Macbeth?s character. No longer does the blood connote an image of
ambition; it now symbolizes guilt, remorse, and an entry into the gates of hell
from which no one can return. Macbeth laments that not even all the water in
the ocean will wash the blood off his hands, he is beginning to realize the
magnitude of his crime, and that he has done something truly evil. This same
blood symbolism continues when Macbeth, shortly after he sees the ghost of
the murdered Banquo at his feast, goes into a state of shock and has to be
escorted back to his chamber by Lady Macbeth. He tells Lady Macbeth
before he goes to sleep, ?All causes shall give way: I am in blood / Stepp?d in
so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o?er:?
(Act III, Scene 4, Lines 159-161) We now find that Macbeth has entered so
far into hell and the world of evil, it is impossible for him to return to
righteousness. He will be forced to kill more and more people in order to
retain control of the throne. The sins he has committed have not only
perverted his virtuous life, but have condemned him to an eternity in hell.
There is no chance of redemption; he has permanently allied himself with the
forces of evil. Like her husband, the once ambitious Lady Macbeth finally
realizes the significance of associating herself in the murder plot, and the
severe repercussions it will bring. Tormented by nightmares, she sleepwalks
through her bedroom and cries, ?What, will these hands ne?er be