Light And Darkness Play Analysis

External forces of darkness Darkness is always associated with evil and to a certain extent deception. In our society, darkness tends to be the primary characteristic of evil. It is also associated with the supernatural, something Shakespeare uses a lot in his plays. William Shakespeare employs the imagery of darkness throughout his tragedy plays, although to different extents. He uses dark images often to describe the horrors and the evils the characters portray, and these intensified internal tragic flaws are typically the result of their own doom. Noticeably Shakespeare Likes to use supernatural effects to create eerie and unsettling feelings amongst the audience and or readers.

In the beginning, there is very little light. It is almost dusk, and the speaker describes the smell as “dark” (7). Towards the middle and end there are various lights: lanterns, lamplight, fireflies, lamp (9, 11, 13, 20). This change over time depicts the storyteller’s significance to the speaker, because she brought enlightenment to his life. In this poem, light is a metaphor for knowledge, while darkness is a metaphor for ignorance. At the end, the old wise storyteller, who is the embodiment of wisdom, “was the lamplight” (20). In contrast, the two boys, who are young and ignorant, are “in one shadow” (21). The juxtaposition of light with darkness shows that the speaker and storyteller are opposites in their insight. Additionally, it is strange that she is a light before them, yet they are still shadowed. What is blocking the light from them? This metaphor illustrates that it takes time for people to become sage like their elders. As the speaker says, adulthood is “childhood’s aftermath,” which means that the knowledge people gain in childhood will lead them to be wise adults such as the storyteller

Lightness and darkness is a common theme throughout literature, most writers use it through symbols in their writing. In Poe’s story “Masque of the Red Death” and Hawthorne’s story “Minister’s Black Veil” both portray themes of lightness and darkness using symbolism throughout.

"Fleance his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me Than is his father's, must embrace the fate Of that dark hour" (III.i.135-138). He refers to the ‘dark hour’ as the time when they die, and since they are travelling during the night. All in all, light and dark play a big role in impacting the the play.

In a photographer’s booth, we see the symbol of light where parents are able to look on themselves from the side and they have a possibility to understand that they are intolerable to each other. “The place is shadowed in the mauve light which is apparently necessary”. Unfortunately, they know it from the beginning but they don not want to accept it because it will disturb already chosen path. “…and finally, shocked by their indifference”. The only son, who is going to start an adult life, able to summarize the parents mistakes and to build his future in the light of love, hope and faith. “…into the cold light, I woke up”. No matter what and when we are always know where is the light but sometimes it is easier to wander in a gloom then to find strength to look at the sun.

Light is used in the story to symbolize hope in a world full of despair and dark times. “We could not see our body nor feel it, and in that moment nothing existed save our two hands over a wire glowing in a black abyss” (Rand 60). Equality has discovered electrical light which was destroyed and hidden many years ago. The light also meant to symbolize Equality’s new found in a society where hope is outlawed leaving people sad and depressed with no knowledge of other emotion. A light in a world of “darkness” has

The wind wailed relentlessly against the windows of the old house. The youngest child gazed unblinkingly through the window into the restless sea. From the mist, a shadow figure began to form and a sharp gasp escaped from the child’s lips. The ghost rose majestically from the mist and danced wildly in the air. Its dark golden eyes pierced straight into the eyes of the petrified child. A high pitched scream slipped from the lips of the child and suddenly the sun peeked from behind the clouds. The entire world seemed to calm in one soothing motion and a small smile crept unto the lips of the child. The shadowy figure had been replaced by a large white flag. The unknown can seem frightening and ominous at times. In The Last Sin Eater by

Throughout the story Baldwin illustrates that darkness is approaching when he says, “And when light fills the room, the child is filled with darkness. He knows that every time this happens he's moved just a little closer to that darkness outside”(7). The darkness and light Baldwin describes works as cycle, similar to night and day, after light comes darkness and after darkness comes light. The pattern of darkness and light is painted to symbolize the cycle of suffering and salvation, showing without one the other cannot exist. It is how to achieve this balance of light and dark that the narrator struggles with throughout the story. The narrator witnesses many instances of darkness, when his daughter died he wrote, “I was sitting in the living-room in the dark, by myself, and I suddenly thought of Sonny. My trouble made his real”(14). This instance of darkness the narrator depicts shows that suffering hold a present everywhere, it’s universal, and people can cope with their suffering though relating to one another. Furthermore, the recurring idea of darkness throughout the story shows that suffering will always exist and it is a vital part of the human experience. However, one can find the light, escaping the darkness for a moment, through relating to one another and showing compassion. In essence, the symbols light and darkness are used to develop Baldwins theme that suffering is

It initially shows worry for her children and sadness for departing from them. For example, the passage states that “when she thought of all the food she had cooked… well the children showed it.” She is proud of her work raising her children and this illustrates that she worked very diligently and strenuously in doing so. The theme of pride continues as she remembers the work she did to make life better for herself and her family after John left her. However, death returns as the image of lighting the lamps represents her lifeforce fading and her initial emotion is fear, then peace as “the lamp is lit” meaning the time has come for her passing and there was no need for her children to “hang on to mother anymore,” meaning she is realizing that her children will be fine without her and is making her peace with

The changing light symbolizes the Youngers’ hope of achieving their dreams, which changes as they face various obstacles. The challenges faced by the Youngers illustrate the theme of struggling to achieve one’s dream even against incessant difficulties. In the end, the Younger family learned that one must simply maintain hope and keep working to overcome the inevitable obstacles in life. Everyone at some point has experienced something that has held them back from reaching their goal, but hope must never be lost, because hope is what drives one to keep pursuing a dream against the

The use of describing the lighting in the story is not seen in many uses of literature. The brightness and darkness is a use of symbolism. The brightness of the light is used when describing Sonny as a boy. It symbolizes is innocence and the warmth being surrounded by the people from the church. The use of bright light symbolizes the positive aspects of life.

Darkness can be a comfortable place for anyone. Without having to look at yourself or have people see you, one may not feel as judged or insecure. Light is revealing. In a bright room, you can’t hide tears, blemishes, or emotions. Blanche, from A Streetcar Named Desire, knows the pain of light all to well. Blanche flees a failed company and a failed marriage in attempt to find refuge in her sister’s home. Through her whirlwind of emotions, the reader can see Blanche desires youth and beauty above all else, or so the readers think. In reality, she uses darkness to hide the true story of her past. In A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Williams uses the motif of light to reveal Blanche’s habit of living in a fantasy world until the

The somber emotion of this piece is surely conveyed by use of dark, cooler colors of the back lit trees and people. The gentle and attentive way the young girl has knelt to light the lantern also portrays that of one who cares or has cared for the person in the grave. However, the focus of this work is on the woman and the child she is holding through the high light of their face and form even though it is turned away from the light coming through the trees and over the

The childs inability to comprehend what he had witnesses, added with his fear of night creatures which he tried to dispel by capturing light in a jar " to exorcise monsters that whispering would rise nightly from the intricate wood that ringed his bed" further intensified his horror and loss of innocence and faith. The reference to “wood” also acts as a religious allusion to the Garden of Eden.

Depression is the leading mental illness worldwide, affecting millions of people every day. As one of the most common mental illnesses, it can occur to anyone, at any age, and to people of any race or ethnic group. With his book Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, William Styron became of the first people to publicly acknowledge his struggling battle with depression. Darkness Visible is an intense and haunting account of Styron’s own suicidal depression in which he reminds us of the toll that this dreadful illness can have on an individual. As Styron describes his own descent into depression, he tells about the place that he was in, “the despair beyond despair” as he describes it to be. Since its publication, his memoir has been appreciated throughout the world and become a helping hand for people around the world who are suffering from depression. Styron’s description of his experiences resonates with people in a deep and profound way, turning his work into an advocate for the movement for the awareness for depression