Question

choose one recurring event in macbeth-blood, for example, or illness- and discuss how it is used throughout the play. is the image associated mainly with one or two particular characters? how does the image help to convey ideas and emotions? address these questions in a brief essay.

Answer 1

During the play, there are several visions and hallucinations that are suffered by the title character.

The first hallucination is the bloody dagger which Macbeth sees right before he kills Duncan, symbolizing the bloody path that he and Lady Macbeth are about to take.

When he sees Bangho's ghost he is being reminded that he has murdered his friend.

Then, Lady Macbeth begins to sleepwalk and hallucinate, seeing her hand full of blood that she can't wash away.

These hallucinations symbolize the guilt that they feel over the growing number of deaths that he and Lady Macbeth cause in order to stay in power.