Motifs that have been described in this play so far

Macbeth is a play that has many different reoccurring motifs. Among these motifs are supernatural occurrences, paradoxes, manhood and atmosphere or weather. Although there are many different motifs, clearly the supernatural and weather are dominant and reoccur the most and therefore play an important role in the play.

The play starts with the three witches. This scene has a mystical setting illustrated with “thunder and lightning.” This scene includes ideas of weather and supernatural, which go hand in hand throughout the story. One witch says, “When shall we three meet again?/In thunder, lightning, or in rain?”. This is the second line of the play and already there are references to weather. At the end of the scene, all together, the witches chant, “…Hover through the fog and filthy air.” This statement includes both images of supernatural (hover) and images of weather (fog and filthy air). The witches are a main source of the supernatural occurrences in the play. They also give an impression of fear, horror and mystery. It is important of them to start the play, as they are the catalysts for all Macbeth’s decisions, thus it is obvious they affect the play quite a bit. Some of their supernatural abilities are foretelling the fut

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Instead, in every way possible, they create an atmosphere, which manipulates him and makes him want to kill Duncan. You could say light is a metaphor for truth, because all the lying and treachery happen in the dark. After Duncan dies there is a supernatural event involving animals.

Noise also gives quite a tense atmosphere in the play. When Macbeth goes to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth hears a bell, an owl shriek and crickets cry. But their powers are ambiguous; they have to answer to Hecate. Linked with color is the important use of light and dark.

Color does play a role in setting the atmosphere but only in one or two of the scenes. The witches also speak in riddles, “fair is foul and foul is fair.

At the height of the play thus far, just before Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth asks for her “blood to thicken to her heart” to stop her feeling the pain of the murder. ” “Compunctious visitings of nature” are the messages of our natural human conscience, which tell us that we should treat others with kindly. Whenever the witches are around there is rain.

Shakespeare also uses animal actions as supernatural events. ” Macbeth feels that he will never again be nourished by kindly nature.

Approximate Word count = 943
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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