Light And Light In Macbeth

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

At the announcement of his successor, his son, King Duncan said, "Which honor must not unaccompanied invest him [The Prince of Cumberland, King Duncan's son and successor to the throne] only, but signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine / on all deservers". (I.4.27)King Duncan pledged his throne to his son as would be compatible with the Great Chain of Being. The light that was mentioned suggests that all was right with the world, the Great Chain of Being was in proper order. The idea that light signifies the natural order of things is enforced when the nobleman Ross says, "And yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp [the sun]". (II.4.73)The sun is the symbol of the Great Chain of Being and God's order in harmony because it is the source of all natural light. Macbeth's act of regicide disturbed the natural order of things and so subdued the sun.

This imagery is typical in a Shakespearean tragedy, where a dark atmosphere is important in developing character and understanding the play. Darkness is used in both a natural and metaphorical sense and symbolizes many things such as death, obfuscation, and evil. Through the use of the mysterious witches, and the natural darkness of night, Shakespeare effectively creates a dramatic atmosphere for the play. The witches are seen by Banquo and Macbeth to be unnatural and evil. Banquo describes them, “wither'd and so wild in their attire,That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth” (A1, S3). These witches appear in darkness at the beginning of the play and Macbeth calls the day, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” (A1, S3). This is the atmosphere in which the “unnatural” witches tell of a prophecy which goes against the natural laws of the world. Some very key scenes where great evil is done, happen under the cover of night, in a naturally dark environment. It is dark when Macbeth has the vision of a dagger, Duncan and Banquo are both murdered under cover of darkness, and Lady Macbeth sleep walks in the middle of the night even though she has a fear of darkness. Darkness is used to cover up guilty crimes, and to accentuate the sense of danger. Duncan is first murdered while he sleeps. Macbeth was hesitant to do this, until Lady Macbeth presented a way in which it could be done, and blamed on someone else. Macbeth murders Duncan in the middle of the

Shakespeare uses light imagery to reveal Macbeth’s immoral personality which resulted from greed. Before Banquo was murdered, Macbeth laments to Lady Macbeth, "Light thickens, and the crow makes wing to the rooky wood: Good things of day begin to droop and drowse, whiles night's black agents to their preys do rouse" (III.ii. l50-53). Macbeth explains that eventually anything good will fall away and anything made of evil will rise and take control of the world. Shakespeare uses metaphorical imagery to make Macbeth admit how mentally mutilated he became by his ambition to remain in power by symbolizing him and Lady Macbeth as “night’s agents” or evil beings and Banquo as “good”. Macbeth’s immoral behavior indicates the desire and want for power as a sovereign and what limits he would go to just to ensure his vision, resulting in disfigurement of his kingdom. Furthermore, when Macbeth is debating whether it is alright for him to murder King Duncan, Macbeth notes, “Stars, hide your fires, /Set not light see my black and deep desires;/ The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be/ which the eye fears, when it is done, to see” (I.iv.51-53). Through his words, Macbeth directly admits that he has an immoral side to him and that he wants it to remain concealed to people while he portrays his virtuous persona. Shakespeare

"Let not light see my black and deep desires./ The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be/ Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see" (i, iv, 53-55). Only light enable people to see, but sinners can't see through light owing to their blindness. These black and deep desires are the one corroding the light, bedimming those righteous decisions, in which it could come after anyone. The Shakespearean play of The Tragedy of Macbeth projected a reasonable and moral man on his downfall path. This tragedy originates from the rapacious desire that erodes Macbeth's self-consciousness and completely distorts his heroic character. Certainly, Macbeth's ambitions that blind his eyes must be seem as a dangerous and terrifying identity.

Light and dark plays a big role in imagery as it sets the mood; darkness where evil deeds occur and the light as revealing the deeds. Macbeth is speaking to himself on the side after Malcolm is crowned Prince of Cumberland. “Stars, hide your fires! Let not the light see my black and deep desires”(I.iv.50-51). Macbeth is so greedy that he does not want anyone to see his dark desires to capture the throne:”The idea that only in darkness can such evil deeds be done is ever present”(Spurgeon 124). Macbeth is telling his wife how Banquo and his son, Fleance, need to die. “Come, seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day And with thy bloody and invisible hand Cancel the tear to pieces that great bond which keeps me pale! Light thickens and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood.(Shakespeare, III.ii.46-57). He is calling for the night to cover the daylight so that Banquo can be killed. Macbeth is telling the murderer to kill Banquo and his son.

In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth evil is conveyed in many ways through characters, themes and settings. Many themes are explored in detail contributing hugely to the sense of evil with characters being used along with these themes to create evil within the characters. These themes and characters are shown in different settings at different times consequently affecting the mood and atmosphere of the play.

of the light or dark. "The King comes here tonight", this is said by a

As mentioned before, darkness symbolizes that something bad is about to happen. This is highly relevant right from the start in Macbeth because the play starts off in the midst of a tremendously violent storm. This automatically gives the audience the idea that there’s going to be a lot of violence and evil throughout this play. The darkness sustains throughout the play as Macbeth is in power. Violent ideas are generated, executed, and not to mention the numerous murders that occur throughout his reigning.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most mystifying plays and is a study of human nature. The theme of appearance versus reality is apparent in Macbeth. It’s filled with numerous, notable, and significant scenes, including when King Duncan visits the Macbeth’s home, Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene, and Macbeth’s dagger soliloquy. They provide raw, psychological insight into the character of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, showcasing the differing characteristics between the two characters. A quote that has developed synonym with Macbeth is, “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1.1.11) which introduces deceptiveness, debut, and one of the most important themes of this tragedy, appearance versus reality. Shakespeare uses numerous characters and situations to emphasize the confusion between appearance and reality, the real and the surreal, the legitimate and the imposturous. Emphasized in these scenes and throughout the play, Shakespeare successfully portrays the misalignment between appearance and reality.

In Macbeth the theme of light and dark is portrayed in many different ways, one of which being nature. Throughout the plays there have been numerous times in which nature has symbolized the light or darkness that was going on in that scene. For example when the witches went to meet Macbeth to bestow upon him the very first prophecies they wanted a barren land. This nature shows dark and evil presence. Since the land wasn’t growing anything, it wasn’t a luscious sunflower field, no body full of good would want to be there.

As aforementioned the symbolism in the play includes that of both light and darkness. Macbeth's insomnia resulting from the pressing guilt and Lady Macbeth's nocturnal excursions while asleep are examples. Macbeth was unable to hide in the dark from the horrors of his deeds and he was haunted by the fear of discovery. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, was afraid of the dark and was using the light in an attempt to dispel her demons.

Macbeth is known as a haunted play. The dark undertones create an ominous aura throughout the play. Witches, hallucinations, and blood create an unsafe environment as you take in William Shakespeare's play. Shakespeare has used an abundance of imagery in his plays to make the audience think from a certain point of view; to create a certain mood, feeling or impression. In Macbeth the main imageries Shakespeare used were weather, location, time, blood, clothing, and the juxtaposition of light and darkness.

Shakespeare uses lightness and darkness in Macbeth to represent contrast between good versus evil. Society tends to picture daytime as joyous and safe, while perceiving night as scary and dangerous. The contrast is pivotal in the play. For example, Shakespeare includes lightness and darkness, or more specifically day and night, after Macbeth murders King Duncan. Macbeth’s cousin Ross notices that “by th’ clock 'tis day, and yet the dark night strangles the travelling lamp”. Observing the conditions, he wonders “is’t night’s predominance or the day’s shame that darkness does the face of earth entomb when living light should kiss it?” (Act 2, Scene 4 7-12). While it is daytime, darkness fills the sky. In Shakespeare’s

The play ‘Macbeth’ uses soliloquies with great effect to express the thoughts of individual characters, particularly in the case of the protagonist, Macbeth. In Act V Scene V, strong words from Macbeth convey to the reader two themes of the play.  This soliloquy demonstrates the play's use of irony and the use of the disparity between the great opposition of light and darkness as symbols for both life and death.  This soliloquy is quite significant to the play as a whole since it demonstrates two very important themes as well as leading to a better understanding of Macbeth.