Saturday, December 13, 2014

What does, “I am in blood stepped in so far that should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er,” (Macbeth:Act 3) mean?

I think you can puzzle out the meaning if you try to visualize the image Shakespeare is trying to describe.


"I am in blood stepped in so far" -- if you change the word "am" to "have" it will help you to see what he is saying -- I have in blood stepped in so far.


Now take the "in blood" which seems out of place to our modern ears and put it on the other side of "stepped": I have stepped in blood so far . . .


I know you can visualize yourself stepping in blood. But you're probably picturing a smallish puddle of blood, such as would be on the floor after you cut yourself. Or maybe even a bigger puddle resulting from a bigger injury. That's not exactly the image Shakespeare wants you to see.


Look at the next part: "that should I wade no more."  The word wade changes everything. Imagine an amount of blood so copious that you could wade through it.  That's not a puddle; that a river of blood, deep enough to cover your ankles, maybe even your legs.


Imagine wading through that much blood, trying to get to the other side of it. The next line makes you see Macbeth's dilemma as he sees it:


"Returning were as tedious as go o’er"--He could turn around, go back to the bank of that river of blood, but it's too late. He's half way across, so he keeps going. Seeing Macbeth stepping deep into the river of blood that he has himself created, trudging across, getting tired but realizing he can't go back, is to feel the horror and despair that he must feel.


Merely translating Macbeth's words does not get at the horror of his experience in the same way that Shakespeare's image does. That's why, I believe, it's always worthwhile to try to figure out what Shakespeare's trying to get you to see or hear or feel because that imagery is an important part of what Shakespeare's words mean. (3.4.135-7)

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