Macbeth Quote Analysis

Macduff orders the army's trumpeters to sound the attack, calling the instruments heralds that announce the coming violence.

Macduff personifies the trumpets as speakers who need 'breath,' collapsing the distinction between human warriors and their instruments—as if the army itself has become a single organism exhaling violence. The alliterative pairing 'blood and death' then creates a harsh, percussive rhythm that mimics the trumpet blasts themselves, making the language perform the sonic assault it describes.

Support a thesis that Shakespeare uses sound imagery to show how Macduff has fully committed to violent vengeance—by giving instruments human breath and voice, the line suggests his personal grief has merged with military purpose, turning him into an extension of the army's deadly intent.