Imagery and Symbolism in Macbeth With its enlightening plot and interesting cast of characters, William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth is one of the greatest plays you will ever light. But most importantly, the look of the play is truly impressive and overwhelming with imagery and symbolism that Shakespeare uses so brilliantly. Throughout the play, the author describes various types of imagery and instances of symbolism that ultimately lead to the downfall of the main character, Macbeth. Instances of imagery and symbolism are seen throughout the work. Imagery and symbolism are inevitable features in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. One of the most important symbolic factors in the work is the presence of blood. The presence of blood has been noted to “increase feelings of fear, horror, and pain” (Spurgeon, p. 20). From the appearance of the bloodthirsty sergeant in the second scene to the last scene, there is a continuous vision of blood throughout the play. The image of blood seems to influence almost all the characters in the play. It strikes Lady Macbeth in the scene where she is found sleepwalking talking to herself after the murders of Duncan and Banquo: “Here is the smell of blood again. All the scents of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” Furthermore, the image of blood is present in the “strange sisters”, or witches. Most noticeably, it is present in act four, scene one, when Macbeth visits the witches to seek their insight and his fortune for the future. He is shown three apparitions, one of which is a bloodied child who commands him to "Be bloody, bold and resolute: laugh with contempt..." Although images of blood pertain to almost every character in the play, nowhere do I .... .. middle of paper......, New York, Viking Publishing, 1993. Gove, Philip Babcock. Webster's Third International Dictionary. Springfield, Mass: G. & C. Merriam, 1967Jorgensen, Paul A. Our naked frailties. Los Angeles: University of California, 1971. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992. Staunten, Howard, The Complete Illustrated Shakespeare, New York, Park Lane Publishing, 1979. Steevens, George. Shakespeare, The critical legacy. vol. 6. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981.Watson, Robert. Thrifty ambition, senseless desires and the tragedy of Macbeth. Shakespeare and the risks of ambition. Cambridge: Harvard UniversityPress, 1984.Wills, Gary. Witches and Jesuits. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.