Friday, January 21, 2011
ACT II Question
A motif is a word, image, metaphor, or idea that is repeated or recurs throughout a text. Two important motifs in Macbeth are the image of blood and the idea of sleep. What examples can you find from Act II? What does the motif add as far as development of character and theme are involved?
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Images pf blood in Act II are shown when Lady Macbeth is described as having blood all over her and when King Duncan's murder is described. Sleep is mentioned when the Porter talks to Macduff about the guards and drinking. The porter uses puns to add ambiguity to the play. However, they do add the the motif of sleep in Macbeth.
ReplyDeleteHow do the comments add to the motif? What is different about the way the Porter talks about sleep and the way Lady Macbeth talks about Duncan's blood?
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of Act II, the images of blood are shown when Lady Macbeth's arms and hands are described as having blood on them. The images of sleep are described when Macbeth puts the guards to sleep. He does not kill the guards because he wants to steal their daggers and blame them for the murder of the king. These images of sleep and blood help to develop the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The images of sheep and blood help develop Lady Macbeth's character by showing her arrogance towards her husband more and more as the play progresses. Lady Macbeth's ambition drives her husband to kill the king, which is something that he would never have committed on his own. Lady Macbeth also questions his manhood as the play goes along, which also helps to develop the arrogance in her character. As the play goes along, Macbeth is allowing his wife's ambition to run his life and that is what develops Macbeth's character.
ReplyDeleteThe images of blood that can be found in Act II are those of the bloodied dagger that Macbeth visualizes floating in front of him, which also foreshadows the terrible deed that he will do in the near future. the second image of blood that can be found is the point at which Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both have blood smeared hands from handling the blood on the daggers. This image suggests that they are both equally involved in the crime: Macbeth with the murder and Lady Macbeth with the plot. When she suggests that they was their hands to clean the blood, it symbolizes the act of washing away the sin of murder and regaining that purity of mind that they had before the act was committed. The images of sleep that can be found in Act II are subtle, but rather important. These images are at the point where Banquo is asleep and has the recollection of the three witches. This image symbolizes his desire to have the same fate as Macbeth, which is why he eagerly accepts to be Macbeth's partner in "crime" (in a way literally), so that he may acquire the status promised him by the witches. These various images develop the theme and characters because they add to the overall underlying idea of the play. They d this by: 1) building Macbeth's character through additional deatils about his thoughts and state of mind 2) adding extra details to the symbolism behind each event 3) clearing up the confusion around the plot by focusing on the action at hand
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of Act II, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about men waking up in their rooms after he murdered Duncan, suggesting that their sleep was interrupted by his deed, and about his hearing a voice proclaiming to the whole house that Macbeth had murdered sleep, and that he "shall sleep no more." This develops Macbeth's character by making him seem paranoid and regretful after he killed the king.
ReplyDeleteWhen they hear a knocking on Duncan's door that night, Macbeth says "Wake Duncan with your knocking! I would thou couldst," bringing the motif back sneakily, by saying you can't wake Duncan if he is dead, so all that knocking is useless.
Blood on Macbeth's hands after he kills Duncan is a source of terror for him, but Lady Macbeth is less worried, and tells him that once they wash it off, no one will know. Blood is also used to frame the king's guards, because it's part of Lady Macbeth's plan to smear the blood from the knife on to them.
The image of blood is tossed around a lot in Act II. When Lady Macbeth says that they must look as if they were sleeping, Macbeth complains about the blood on his hand. "Whose hands are these? Ha! They’re plucking out my eyes. Will all the water in the ocean wash this blood from my hands? No, instead my hands will stain the seas scarlet, turning the green waters red" (Line 61). Macbeth refers to the blood on his hand as his guilt toward the crime. Lady Macbeth also comments toward the blood on their hands, saying that a little washing with water will get rid of it. Blood in both of these scenarios refers to guilt, making blood a motif in the act.
ReplyDeleteImages of blood appear often in a literal way as Macbeth thinks about killing the king and does. These images are emphasized, and are some of the most powerful lines in the play. Macbeth fears the blood, and it phases Lady Macbeth. The blood also figurative symbolizes the guilt of Macbeth. He says, "Will all Neptune's great ocean wash this blood clean from my hands?" Macbeth not only wonders if the actual blood will wash off, but figuratively wonders if the guilt can ever be washed away by anything.
ReplyDeleteThe symbol of sleeping is used to represent the king's death. As Macbeth describes the king's death he keeps referring to this image of sleeping. He keeps coming back to it because of his guilt.
The motifs add to the description of Macbeth's guilt. They are now often associated with death, and even what people often fear or talk about when talking about murder. They also add to the poetic language of the play. They add another layer of symbolism.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the theme so far of “Macbeth” is “fair is foul, and foul is fair,” meaning what’s good is bad and what’s bad is good. The motif of blood adds to the development of character and theme because in Act I, blood symbolized loyalty and honor because Macbeth defeated Macdonald trying to defend King Duncan. When a person reads on to Act II, they can conclude that blood symbolizes the guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth because they think they cannot be washed clean. This adds to theme, because the two characters let ambition overcome them because of how the three witches addressed Macbeth after the battle. I also think that the weather can play as a motif because in Act I, when the witches met, there was thunder and lightning. Then, in Act II, Ross and the Old Man discuss the unnatural experiences the night that Duncan was murdered and one of them was that there was a terrible storm. The other things that were unusual were that the horses ate each other and a falcon was killed by an owl. A falcon is a “hunting bird reserved for royalty” (Levels of Understanding Introduction to Macbeth Packet of Worksheets, Page 15) and an owl is a “nocturnal bird, symbolically associated with a petty crime” (Levels of Understanding Introduction to Macbeth Packet of Worksheets, Page 15). This indicates that when they killed Duncan, it was not just a foul or bad deed but it was also a sin against God. When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, Christianity was and was already established in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Back then, there was a doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings and it said that the king had to be elected by God to rule. This also helps establish the theme of good and evil, “fair is foul, and foul is fair.” Macbeth and his wife had so much ambition to become king and queen that they disobeyed one of God’s Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not murder” yet the king is supposed to be elected by God to rule.
ReplyDelete"Tis Shakespeare twere confused of his brain
yet he wanted his audience to be entertained" ~Cara Janae (:
you know. . . I wrote my paragraph on a word document & then copied it in the post box thingy...did not realize that i wrote that much. oh well. hopefully i answered your question, Ms. Allen. Have a great one!
ReplyDeleteCara Janae (:
Blood and sleep are both shown in the second scene. Blood is shown on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, showing the bad. Then sleeping in this scene is described as a innocent act, a person is so vulnerable at this moment. Showing both of these actions in repetition shows the conflict and the good verses bad. When porter speaks about sleep it is shown in a more mysterious way. I think both were shown to show that Macbeth isn't really a killer, he could only do it while a man was vulnerable, instead of fighting him. I believe he is shown as a coward to some extent
ReplyDeleteThat anonymous was Maria, sorry couldnt figure this thing out.
ReplyDelete“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood,Clean from my hand?”In MacBeth, blood and sleep are motifs and represent the guilt of the main character Macbeth.The blood represents the crime that Macbeth committed and sleep represents Macbeth's conscience and mind (full of guilt). Also visions play the role as a motif because Macbeth had visions recurring throughout the play. For example: when Macbeth sees the dagger floating in the air(covered with blood).
ReplyDeleteThe motif of blood in Act II is seen when both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself have blood on their hands just after murdering Duncan. The blood is used to represent the evilness of the crime they committed and shows how they are guilty of murder. Lady Macbeth believes that their crime can be easily covered by simply getting rid of the evidence, so they are not guilty. Macbeth, however, believes that they will always be guilty for killing him. Also, the motif of sleep is seen in Act II during the night. It represents the stillness of all the sleeping ones and how the darkness covers Macbeth from being discovered. The darkness represents the evil truth behind Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's actions.
ReplyDeleteppls of this honors english class, wazzup!! guess who it is??? hahaha lol
ReplyDelete& its not Maria! baha! sorry, i was bored.. tehee (:
The motif of blood was displayed when they killed King Duncan and Lady MacBeth said she had blood on her hands. The motif of sleep was displayed when they put the guards to sleep but did not kill them. Motifs help develop characters by showing there inner desires which shows their true nature. And it helps the theme by showing the nature of the story like horror or drama or comedy.
ReplyDeleteBy Wesley
The blood is a representation of the sin that Macbeth has just committed. After Macbeth murdered murdered Duncan he felt remorse and believes that he has killed sleep. The symbol of sleep is common symbol in this play. By killing Duncan he thinks that now he cant have peaceful sleep anymore.
ReplyDeleteBlood is a motif that is illsturated by Lady Macbeth being covered with blood and the desrciption of Duncan's Murder. Sleep is a motif that is illsturated by the king's death.
ReplyDeleteMotifs accomplish several goals, adding to the poetic language of the play, adding to the symbolism of the play, and building upon specific character's personalities and characteristics.