Quest For Power In Macbeth

A Quest For Power Overcome By Innocent Bloodshed

Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare, it is also his shortest tragedy. It tells of a brave and noble soldier named Macbeth, who is on the receiving end of a prophecy. The prophecy states that he will one day be the King of Scotland. Overcome with his quest for power and fed up with his wife’s berating, he kills King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. Blood has always had a historical significance. During the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, the King James Version of The Bible was being printed. Blood is a very important symbol in The Bible, because the blood of Jesus Christ secures forgiveness and redemption. Macbeth was on a quest for power and was overcome by a raging bloodlust.
This is significant because Macbeth kills Duncan later that same night with a dagger. According to Sadowski, he goes through with the murder because “The promise of power and social success of the witches’ prophecy appeals to Macbeth’s ego, as such he cannot resist the challenge to reach for the highest reward - kingship - now this recent, victorious battle has brought him closer than ever to this goal”(276). This once again shows Macbeth on his quest for power. After killing Duncan, Macbeth enters and is completely covered in blood. He is literally and figuratively covered in blood, just one of the many examples of imagery, because he has killed Duncan and basically sentenced his two guardsmen to death. This is the first time we see Macbeth’s ambition play a harsh role in his quest for power after he has decided to assassinate the
This shows how blood is being used to achieve a goal that could be considered a quest for power. Then, Lady Macbeth has been sleepwalking, and while she does so, she washes her hands of the blood she feels is on her hands. She also talks during her escapades giving away that she conspired to kill the king, Macduff and his family, and Banquo (5.1.28-60). By conspiring to kill these people and spill innocent blood, she has elevated her own position. This scene shows that she feels remorse and wishes to wash her hands of the guilt that is present if not in her consciousness, then in her unconsciousness. Near the ending of the play, Macduff and his army are preparing for battle against Macbeth and his. He makes the comment, “Make all our trumpets speak; give them all breath, those clamorous harbingers of blood and death”(5.6.9-10). By saying this, he is acknowledging that when they trumpets death and blood are not far away. Most armies have a trumpet player to signal the beginning of battle. Like mentioned previously, soldiers fought for the quest of power, which generally ended with