Motifs

=Motifs= recurring elements, events, or ideas in a story.


 * Blood
 * symbolizes guilt of Macbeth and his wife
 * the "spot" on Lady Macbeth's hand throughout her sleepwalking experiences
 * the dagger that Macbeth hallucinates and drips with blood while pointing toward King Duncan's room


 * Hallucinations/Delusions
 * Macbeth's hallucinations and Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking represent their After murdering the first time, they begin to feel doubt and remorse. However, Macbeth continues to pursue what he


 * Predictions
 * Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor
 * Macbeth will become King of Scotland
 * Although Banquo cannot become King, his sons will be successors
 * Macbeth could not be killed by a man "not born of a woman"


 * The Weather
 * Bad weather symbolizes that something bad will happen
 * For example, the weather is bad when Macbeth kills Duncan and Banquo.
 * Horses eating each other
 * The weather being bad (thunder, storm, tempest, etc) can be traced back as a motif or theme in numerous Shakespearean works.
 * The bad weather seems to reflect moral and political corruption as well.
 * The witches only appear during storms.


 * Woman's Rights/Power
 * Lady Macbeth seems to begin as the head of the household.
 * Throughout his plays and other literature Shakespeare expresses his positive opinions towards women's rights.