To begin with, I found the word "blood", or different forms of it forty-two times (ironically, the word fear is used forty-two times), with several other passages dealing with the symbol. Perhaps the best way to show how the symbol of blood changes throughout the play, is to follow the character changes in Macbeth. First he is a brave honoured soldier, but as the play progresses, he becomes a treacherous person who has become identified with death and bloodshed and shows his guilt in different forms.

The first reference of blood is one of honour, and occurs when Duncan sees the injured sergeant and says "What bloody man is that?". This is symbolic of the brave fighter who been injured in a valiant battle for his country. In the next passage, in which the sergeant says "Which smok'd with bloody execution", he is referring to Macbeth's braveness in which his sword is covered in the hot blood of the enemy.

After these few references to honour, the symbol of blood now changes to sh

A final way, and perhaps the most vivid use of the symbol blood, is of the theme of guilt. First Macbeth hints at his guilt when he says "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?", meaning that he wondered if he would ever be able to forget the dastardly deed that he had committed. Then the ghost of Banquo, all gory, and bloody comes to haunt Macbeth at the banquet. The sight of apparitions represents his guilt for the murder of Banquo which he planned. Macbeth shows a bit of his guilt when he says "It is the bloody business which informs thus," he could not get the courage to say murder after he had killed Duncan, so he says this instead.

When Banquo states "and question this most bloody piece of work," and Ross says "is't known who did this more than bloody deed?", they are both inquiring as to who performed the treacherous acts upon Duncan. When Macbeth is speaking about Malcolm and Donalbain, he refers to them as "bloody cousins"

Lady Macbeth shows the most vivid example of guilt using the symbol of blood in the scene in which she walks in her sleep. She says "Out damned spot! Out I say! One: two: why then 'tis time to do't: hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it when none can call out power to account?

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Approximate Word count = 872
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)