Macbeth And Blood Theme Essay Research Paper

Macbeth And Blood Theme Essay, Research Paper

One of the themes in the tragedy of Macbeth is that of blood. Macbeth is known

for his skills as a warrior and his mercilessness that is shown in his killing

of MacDonwald. This warrior mentality quickly spreads into his life, and he

begins to make killing a habit. When he is told in a prophecy that he shall be

king, Macbeth takes it upon himself to murder Duncan, king of Scotland. After

this murder he begins to see visions of blood on his hands, blood nothing could

remove. As Macbeth becomes more ambitious, he also begins to kill more people to

get the power that he wants. The theme of blood is shown throughout the play,

and is a problem that Macbeth finds harder and harder to rid himself of after

each killing. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is an esteemed member of the

army, probably the greatest fighter in all of Scotland. He gets word that a

rebellious tribe led by MacDonwald is defeating the Scots. He

?single-handedly? defeats the rebels and ?unseamed him (MacDonwald) from

the nave to th? chops.? With this Macbeth earns great respect among his

peers, and even the king. On his way home from war three witches tell him his

future. ?All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth!

Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All Hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king

hereafter!? Macbeth was already thane of Glamis, and wondered why they would

say that he would be Thane of Cawdor or even king, so he blew it off as

tomfoolery, and impossible. However, he was later told by the king that because

of his valiant fighting against MacDonwald that he was to be given the title of

the Thane of Cawdor. All this makes him think again of the witches prophecies,

and he wonders if indeed he could be king. The desire for power began to consume

Macbeth and his wife, and this ambition caused all of the bloody events that

were to follow. Macbeth began to want the kingship that Duncan had more and

more. Together Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth plotted to hurry Macbeth?s

reign, by killing Duncan themselves. At night Macbeth gains access to Duncan?s

sleeping quarters, kills the guards, and stabs King Duncan to death. After the