Shakespeare uses injury imagery to signify vulnerability. When Macbeth describes Duncan’s corpse to his guests, he says: “his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature, for ruin’s wasteful entrance” (II, iii, 106-7). At a later date in the play, Malcolm states that Scotland is bleeding, and that “each new day a gash is added to her wounds” (IV, iii, 40-1). These phrases suggest destructibility. Shakespeare achieves this through vivid metaphors that portray wounds as doorways to destruction.
![Gates of Autumn (2009) by Igor Zenin. [Please keep artwork credit and original link if reusing or repinning. Thanks!] Beautiful World, Beautiful Pictures, Simply Beautiful, Absolutely Gorgeous, Magic Places, The Secret Garden, Iron Gates, Iron Fence](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/b3/91/6f/b3916f2dc280fdb150b3934de2a670e1--secret-gardens-the-secret-garden.jpg)
