Darkness In Macbeth

Through the soliloquy, the audience gains insight into Macbeth’s innermost thoughts. He names multiple reasons as to why he should not kill King Duncan, noting that Duncan is his guest, kinsman and a good king. He also admits that the only motive he has is the “Vaulting ambition” residing inside of him. Here he names his own hamartia, his fatal flaw, and acknowledges that to give in and commit such a deed, would result in his “deep damnation”. While still undecided on the matter, Lady Macbeth enters, and, seeing his indecision she decides to manipulate him into the decision that suits her; for after all, she is almost if not as ambitious as her husband. By questioning his manhood, his bravery, even their marriage, she successfully leads him to make the choice to kill the king. We now must realise that although the witches’ prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s taunts were a catalyst for Macbeth’s treachery, they never force him to make these errors in judgement; it must have been something that was already inside of him that caused him to decide this. There must have been some inherent evil already a part of his character.

A.C. Bradley wrote that about Macbeth: “darkness, we may even say blackness, broods over this tragedy... all the scenes which at once recur to memory take place either at night or in some dark spot.” The Tragedy of Macbeth contains many instances where darkness is represented and portrayed whether it occurs at night or the actions. Many actions that were completed by Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the prophecies told by the witches, all have corrupt intentions or outcomes.

In the first act of Macbeth, Malcolm is given the title as King Duncan’s successor meaning he is next in line to the throne. The imagery of light is first used to portray the bravery and

Without the creation of the three witches by Shakespeare, Macbeth’s downfall would have happened more gradually, and possibly completely differently.

Despite his fearless character in battle, Macbeth is concerned by the prophecies of the Witches, and his thoughts remain confused, both before, during, and after his murder of King Duncan. When Duncan announces that he intends the kingdom to pass to his son Malcolm, Macbeth appears frustrated. When he is about to commit the murder, he undergoes terrible pangs of conscience. Macbeth is at his most human and considerate when his masculinity is ridiculed and degraded by his wife. However, Macbeth has resolved himself into a far more stereotypical villain and asserts his manliness over that of his wife. His ambition now begins to spur him toward further horrible deeds, and he starts to disregard and even to challenge fate. Nevertheless, the newfound resolve causes Macbeth to move onward.

Macbeth foreshadows his dark deed when he says, “Stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.57-8). The dark deed that he plans indicates his long sought after aspiration to be the strongest and most influential person in Scotland. The way Macbeth says this quote signifies that he does not want anyone to know the truth; he wants it to be laced in secrecy. Macbeth begins to think that the plan will fail, and Lady Macbeth suggests that Macbeth is not a real man: “What beast was ‘t then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man” (1.7.53-8).

Revolution and replacement of power are recurring events that are still being recycled today. Not only in nations, but in organizations and workplaces. Typically the new leader is promoted by supporters or earns his/her way to the top. It is unnatural to leap from a lower position to the top rank of a hierarchy in a short timeframe, let alone achieve your rank by committing murder. In Macbeth nature and symbols of nature ironically reflect the unnatural doings of the characters throughout the play.

Later in the play, after King Duncan gratefully thanked Macbeth for his duty in battle, Duncan then names his son Prince of Cumberland. With foul intentions, Macbeth says, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.” He asks the stars to hid their darkness so that no one could see that he will have to kill King Duncan to make the witches’ prophecies come true. Right before the murderers go to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, Macbeth says, “Come, seeling night.” All evil actions, take place in the darkness and there is no light to stop the darkness. Macbeth's ambition has taken him over and there is no turning back. Later in the play, after King Duncan gratefully thanked Macbeth for his duty in battle, Duncan then names his son Prince of Cumberland. With foul intentions, Macbeth says, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.” He asks the stars to hid their darkness so that no one could see that he will have to kill King Duncan to make the witches’ prophecies come

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a story of a man whose ambition and fear gets him the crown but the consequences of his actions catch up to him. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth many ideas, or motifs are prevalent throughout the story. Some motifs help with character development, explaining situations, or giving a bigger or better meaning to what is there.

The second symbol that William Shakespeare uses to demonstrate symbolism and imagery efficiently is the nature of the play. Shakespeare establishes the effective use of nature throughout the play Macbeth. For instance, at the start of the play Macbeth when the three witches were together discussed about where they should meet again. As the second witch quotes, “ When the hurlyburly's done. /When

It is human nature to be intrigued by all things mystical and dangerous. We fear the unknown but seek it nonetheless out of greed. Most of Shakespeare’s works hold an element of the supernatural and the play Macbeth is no exception. In this play we see a contemporary morality that warns of the dangers of trafficking with instruments of darkness; the witches in the play prophesize of Macbeths future as king, and Macbeth blinded by his hunger for power fails to recognize that the witches prophecies are luring him to evil . In act 1 scène 3 we see the effect that the excitement of the prophecies has had on his imagination as he begins to contemplate murdering the king. As Macbeth gets closer to

Macbeth is very reluctant to react on his instincts to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth is able to ease her husband’s nerves and convince him that it is his best interests to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth, full of ambition for her husband knows darkness must cover their crimes. She calls upon the night as aid. “Come, thick night and pall thee dunnest smoke of hell nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark.” (Act 1 Scene 5, lines 50-53) at several times in the Macbeth reference the night as a universal symbol of evil. The dark night in other words, reflects the deep dark desires in Macbeth. After he succeeds the first time by going against his conscience, Macbeth is confident in killing others now. He turns his nature of being dark and becomes numb to all emotions. He became selfish and killing was no longer a moral issue for Macbeth. He becomes thirsty for blood and impulsively kills with no remorse. After doing so many dark and evil things, Macbeth fears no evil because he is evil. His the king of death himself and stops at nothing to get what he wants and to fulfill his ambitions. He walks in darkness and has no desire to escape the very thing that possess his soul and mind. Macbeth become not only the king of Scotland but also the King of death and

Macbeth displays a glimpse of darkness after he discovers that King Duncan has announced that Malcolm The Prince of Cumberland will in the future take the throne and become the new King of Scotland. Consequently, Macbeth realizes that this jeopardize his

Nevertheless, darkness plays a crucial and more evident role than light, because Macbeth is known for being nefarious and deceitful. Furthermore, the setting and nature of the play has a feeling of darkness and despair, giving off an aura of evil and death. Once finding out about the prophecies through the letter from Macbeth, Lady Macbeth talks herself into a murderous state of mind and calls upon night and darkness to hide her from heaven and her intentions, asking the night to cover her and Macbeth’s actions for when they kill Duncan so that they can succeed. She is filled with nothing but cruelty and desire for blood, having all her feminine qualities removed, and is now stronger than Macbeth. With this in mind, just like how darkness represents

Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.