Images of blood and water
Images of blood and water occur frequently throughout William Shakespeares Macbeth, the significance of which should not be overlooked. Shakespeare uses these images to portray the horror of the central action, Duncan’s murder. The vibrant images of blood and water also symbolize the unending guilt of the two protagonists, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The blood and water represents their inability to erase the memory of Duncan’s murder and the impossibility of ridding their conscience of the unscrupulous deed they committed. The blood of King Duncan becomes too powerful for any amount of water to rinse it clean from Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s hands. ... Duncans blood on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s hands is symbolic of the evil crime that they had committed. The blood on their hands is also representative of the guilt, which could not be escaped. "Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? ... ” (II, iii, 61) Illustrates how no amount of water could clean Macbeth’s guilty conscience.