Macbeth
Light and Dark Imagery in Shakespeare's Macbeth In Shakespeare's Macbeth, motifs from clothing to blood, from disease to sleep, brought out the major themes and ideas set in the play. However, the motif of light and dark certainly brought out major symbolism of the tragic hero himself, Macbeth, as well as the plot as a whole. Through his skillful use of this imagery, Shakespeare shows us a deeper look into the true character of Macbeth, and proves this play to be one of the best tragedies written. The first form used to add to the atmosphere of the tragedy is the imagery of darkness. In a Shakespearean tragedy, we have known him to create a special tone, or atmosphere to show the darkness in a tragedy. In 'Macbeth', Shakespeare draws upon the design of the witches, the guilt in Macbeth's soul, and the darkness of the night to establish the atmosphere. All of the remarkable scenes take place at night or in some dark spot; for instance, the vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, the Murder of Banquo, and Lady Macbeth's sleep walking. Darkness is the time when the traveler hastens to reach safety in his inn, when Banquo rides homeward to meet his assassins;
Therefore, the reader can conclude that Shakespeare portrays darkness to establish the evil parts of the play; whereas, we employ daylight to define victory or goodness in the play. Without it to conceal his evil deeds, Macbeth would not have murdered King Duncan. Secondly, the darkness shows one of Lady Macbeth's weaknesses: her fear of dark. First, in the beautiful but ironical passage when Duncan sees the swallows flirting round the castle of death. This shows us how during this night, Macbeth changes greatly. The first witch says during a conversation with her fellow witches, "Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his penthouse Simones 2lid; He shall live a man forbid: Weary sev'nights nine times nine Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine: Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed. With Shakespeare's use of light and darkness imagery, we see development in Macbeth's character. During this dark night, we see how Macbeth is a moral coward. We see this in Act II Scene I, which is opened by the immediate announcement that it is past midnight, "I take't, 'tis later [than midnight], sir" ( II, I, 3 ). Through the characters development as well as the development of the plot, the readers are given a vivid image of the overall theme of this tragedy through this important motif of light and darkness.
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