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 also to symbolize something greater. In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, blood plays a major role in the play and is used throughout the play. The bloody scenes begin with the begging of a large violent and bloody battle in which many people lose their lives. One of the main characters, Macbeth, is involved in many bloody murders. Lady Macbeth is behind many murders and convinces Macbeth to kill the king. The more people Macbeth kills, the more guilt he feels and builds up inside him. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses blood to symbolize the guilt the characters feel after a 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 kills Duncan to fulfill the prophecy. At first Macbeth doesn't want to kill the king but Lady Macbeth convinces him to murder Duncan so he can become king. Lady Macbeth wants more power and after questioning Macbeth's manhood, he considers what he should do and what will happen. What he's going to do is going to be very bloody and he's thinking about blood. In the second act, scene 1, Macbeth says: "My eyes have gone mad with other senses,/ or are worth all the rest: I see you still;/ and on your blade and your dungeon the drops of blood,/ which was not the case. so before. It doesn’t exist” (44-47). Macbeth constantly thinks about the murder and the drops of blood symbolize his guilt. He wasn't always like this, he didn't think about murder before, he only killed in war to protect his home and family, but now he is going to assassinate the king in cold blood. The murders that Macbeth will continue to commit after killing King Duncan will only get worse and bloodier and his guilt will continue to increase.