Question

Within the context of this excerpt from act II, scene I, of Macbeth, what is the meaning of the word multitudinous?

MACBETH:
Whence is that knocking?
How is't with me, when every noise appals me?
What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes!
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.

Answer 1

Answer:

This aforementioned quotation is not from Act II, Sc. i of Macbeth, but from Act II, Sc. ii of the same play.

Explanation:

The meaning of the word, "multitudinous" is 'vast', composed of multitudes. The word was mew in the time of Shakespeare, first recorded in Johnson.

The lines are spoken by Macbeth as a soliloquy.