There are a variety of fluids in William Shakespeare's Macbeth such as milk, water and blood. Milk quenches thirst, while blood flows from a person. Water is used to wash away stains, while blood can contaminate a person. The image of blood is very powerful throughout Macbeth and reinforces the main themes of courage, guilt and violence evoked by the three witches. At the beginning of the play, the Bloody Captain and Lady Macbeth have very different opinions about what is brave (especially the Bloody Captain and Lady Macbeth). qualities of courage that Macbeth does or does not show) and both use different images of milk and blood to prove their point. The captain is bleeding because he fought bravely in battle, especially against the “captivity” of Malcolm (son of King Duncan of Scotland) (I ii 6). His wounds indicate his loyalty to Scotland. Severely wounded, however, the bloodthirsty captain decides to tell the king about Macbeth's courage against the Norwegian invaders and in particular against the rebel leader Macdonwald. Macbeth has killed so many people that his sword "smokes" (I ii 21), or smokes, with blood. These "executions" (I ii 21) foreshadow his many other murders with his "wielding steel" (I ii 20) later in the play. These executions are not for the good of Scotland, but for the acquisition (and preservation) of the title of King of Scots. Later in Act I, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from Macbeth telling her of the witches' prophecy for Macbeth and Banquo, how he was acclaimed Thane of Cawdor by the witches, and that he would eventually become king. Immediately, Lady Macbeth began plotting how Macbeth would kill King Duncan to gain the title. However, she “fear[s]” (I v 15) that Macbeth's human “nature” (I v 15) is too “milk[y]”… middle of paper……(IV iii 117) is “miserable” (IV iii 118) because within it is an “untitled tyrant” (IV iii 118), or Macbeth, who does not deserve a title. Macbeth, according to Macduff, is “bloody scepter” (IV ii 118) since his scepter and sign of his authority as monarch, unlike those of other sovereigns, is covered in blood, since he had to kill to ascend the throne. However, it is only when Ross brings the news that Macduff's family has been murdered (most likely by Macbeth) that Malcolm encourages Macduff to kill Macbeth, and Macduff agrees. Macbeth swims in the blood of his victims while Malcolm and Macduff use images of blood to describe the violence and destruction of Scotland (first evoked by the three witches) under Macbeth's rule. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Macbeth. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1915. Google Books. Network. 3 September. 2015.