Many authors use blood to symbolize concepts such as guilt, revenge and death. In writing blood can be used in many ways not only to show death but to symbolize something greater. In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, blood is an important part of the play and is used throughout. The bloody scenes start from begging to a big violent and bloody battle in which many people lose their lives. One of the main characters, Macbeth, is involved in numerous bloody murders. Lady Macbeth is behind many of the murders and convinces Macbeth to kill the king. The more people Macbeth kills, the more guilt he feels and accumulates within him. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses blood to symbolize the guilt the characters feel after the murder. An example of blood as a symbol of guilt is when Macbeth kills King Duncan. The witches told Macbeth that he would become king, so he killed Duncan to fulfill the prophecy. Initially Macbeth does not want to kill the king but Lady Macbeth convinces him to kill Duncan so that he can become king. Lady Macbeth wants more power and after questioning Macbeth's manhood she thinks about what she must do and what will happen. What he does will be very bloody and he thinks about blood. In Act 2, Scene 1 Macbeth says: "My eyes are become ridiculous of other senses, / Or are worth all else: I see thee still; / And upon thy blade and upon thy prison streams of blood, / That was not then before . There is no such thing” (44-47). Macbeth constantly thinks about murder and the splatters of blood symbolize his guilt. He didn't always think about murder before, he only killed in war to protect the his home and his family, but now he will kill the king in cold blood. The murders that Macbeth will continue to carry out after killing King Duncan will only get worse and bloodier and his sense of guilt will continue to increase..