Use of Imagery in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Horror Violence and Blood
Throughout acts two and three, imagery is used to depict scenes of horror, violence and bloodshed. This vivid imagery and allows Shakespeare to covey incredibly powerful messages about characters. Imagery of blood, violence and horror is used throughout acts two and three in order to create certain atmospheres and feelings as well as powerfully convey and reveal hidden messages about characters.
In the Play, Shakespeare uses imagery to display Macbeths feeling of guilt and possible regret. A great example of this imagery is after Macbeth kills Duncan and has his blood on his hands. Macbeth says, “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood - Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather - The multitudinous seas incarnadine, - Making the green one red” (2.2.78). Macbeth is wondering if all the water from all the oceans on earth will be able to wash the blood of the murder from his hands. He responds by saying rather than wash this blood off his hands will turn the seas to the color of blood, making the green ones red. This passage shows that Macbeth has a conscious and sees wrong in what he does unlike Lady Macbeth who is completely evil.
Another use of Imagery in Macbeth is to show how Macbeth has turned into a monster. After realizing that he has the blood of several innocent people on his hands, Macbeth says “All causes shall give way: I am in blood - Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, - Returning - were as tedious as go o'er. - Strange things I have in head, that will to hand; - Which must be acted ere they may be scann'd” (3.4.168). Macbeth is saying that he is so deep in blood that he can’t go through it anymore. He also says that turning back and trying to go back to being the normal, non-monstrous person he is now would be as tedious and hard as it was to become that monster. This imagery better creates an image of what Macbeth has become as well as stirs up emotions that no other literary elements could expose.
Imaginary is also used in Macbeth to depict the monstrosities Macbeth conducts. While speaking with one of the Murderers who killed Banquo and asking if he was dead, they say “Ay, my good lord. Safe on a ditch he bides,: With twenty trenched gashes oh his head” (3.4.29). Rather than say he is dead, this detailed imagery shows what a monster Macbeth has turned into. Instead of quickly killing Banquo, and just get the job done, Macbeth convinces the murderers that his former best friend was a horrible man and ordered them to kill him brutally and like savages. The use of imagery in act three, makes the message of Macbeth’s evil and savageness much more potent and influential to readers and viewers alike.
The imagery throughout scenes two and three of Macbeth vividly and effectively express important information about characters as well as create atmospheres that are important to the progression of the play. This imagery clearly shows Macbeths feeling of guilt and regret; how Macbeth turned into a monster and depicts the massacres he conducts. The use of imagery is used beautifully throughout scenes two and three of Macbeth to express and reveal information crucial to character development as well as create atmospheres necessary to the development of the play.