Macbeth Light And Darkness Essay

     In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of Macbeth the main character Macbeth is driven from his status as a well respected warrior and lord of not one, but two Scottish regions to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth gets caught in a web of lies and vile acts of murder in which he brings about his own demise. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life. ‘ They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But bearlike I must fight the course.’ His great ambition and gullibility of the witches predictions are two of the biggest factors of his downfall;however, Lady Macbeth was probably the biggest influence in the whole tragedy.

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 play ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare, light and dark imagery is used throughout the story in order to show the difference and symbolism between good and evil. Light represents innocence, truth and purity while darkness is used to represent cruelty, guilt and corruption. Towards the end of the play, Shakespeare correlates the ideas of both lightness and darkness to portray life and death. Ultimately, they represent good and evil. Shakespeare uses these two themes to drive the plot and story forward in order to create conflict, twists and symbolism.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth is an ominous tale that illustrates the danger in violating the Great Chain of Being, the hierarchy of things in God's ordered universe. The Chain ranked all of creation and human society as well. It ranked kings above nobles and nobles above the poor. When Macbeth murdered King Duncan and assumed the throne, the Chain was violated and chaos resulted. The atmosphere of the play symbolized this resulting turmoil. Specifically, light and darkness were used to exemplify the unnatural chaos and ominous tone of the work. The role of light and the role of darkness relates to the chaos resulting from the violation of the Great Chain of Being.

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 represents Macbeth as an evil character in the play and the whole story turns out to have different situations. Here, it expresses light/darkness, violent imagery and unnatural happenings. Explain how it expresses and how it influences the theme of the story by supporting evidence such as quotations.

     Joseph Conrad and William Shakespeare are not traditionally paired up for a critical analysis. However, the characters MacBeth and Kurtz in MacBeth and Heart of Darkness, respectively, prove to be worthy of comparison. MacBeth and Kurtz share many common characteristics: both have vaulting ambition that leads both to their success and their demise, a superiority complex, and both make similar sacrifices to achieve their goal. Despite their many similarities, MacBeth and Kurtz differ in many respects. The way the authors present each character varies greatly, and the way each interacts with his surroundings contrast a great deal. The circumstances that follow their actions also

Symbolism is crucial to understanding Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth.’ A good example is the struggle between darkness and light, and good versus evil. Light is often associated with life and divinity, whereas darkness is an indicator of wickedness or death. These ideas are reinforced with

All human beings are capable of the most gruesome crimes imaginable. The customs and controls of civilization stop humans from becoming brute savages. Many of these “gruesome crimes” occur in the dark. In William Shakespeare’s world-famous tragedy Macbeth, many gruesome crimes occur in complete darkness. The motif of darkness and the theme of the corrupting power of ambition cause the downfall of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth in Macbeth.

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth must separate his fate from the supernatural. Shakespeare uses poetic language along with vivid descriptions to set his scene. Attitude is not only represented by the characters’ actions, but also by descriptions of light and darkness in the play. An analysis of the dark in addition light language reveals a rift between the two: light language is used during revelations and dark language is used during times of secrecy.

The one thing that Shakespeare has always mastered in his play productions is contrast. This may be between moods, characters, or even the idea of light and dark. This is no different in the play Macbeth. The contrast between light and dark in this play goes from moral and goodness down to progressively evil. This is all circling around Macbeth. Though this is shown by his actions, the world around him, and his character. In this play we see the this exact change of a person from good to evil this is life.

Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” has many dark scenes and tones with tragic endings. Macbeth, the main character, is a subject to Shakespeare’s tragic endings, along with Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play, three witches appear to Macbeth three times and tell him prophecies. These fortunes deceive and confuse Macbeth when he tries to figure them out, eventually leading him to his downfall. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about these prophecies as well, and she encourages Macbeth to carry out what the prophecies said which also helps lead Macbeth to his bitter end. Like a moth drawn to a flame, the husband and wife both want to have as much power as possible. These three main characters, the three witches, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth, are the pivotal characters in the tragedy.

No one is one hundred percent good or bad, but everyone has a good and evil sides that can be controlled if the distinction between right and wrong is made. The uncontrolled ambition of Lady Macbeth that made her become evil and the deep regret that she had after the evil act was committed show that everyone has a good and an evil sides. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, introduces three main areas on how someone’s character can vary between good and evil when ambition is not controlled by morality. These include strong desire will lead you to become evil, heavy conscience

From gaining to maintaining their power, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth continually seek out darkness to aid them in their evil endeavors. Once king, Macbeth allows himself to be utterly enveloped by this darkness and once consumed, he is prepared to eliminate any who would intercept his newly obtained power and thus, to squash any hope of redemption. Malcolm describes this by saying, “But Macbeth is. [treacherous]

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air” (Shakespeare Act I Scene I 12-13). The Weïrd Sisters utter these lines in unison in the first scene of the play. Shakespeare thus establishes the backdrop for a story full of paradoxes and mysticism. Not all is how it appears to be. Deceit and betrayal take center stage in the play, paving the way for Macbeth’s ascendancy to kingship, and eventual downfall. Good versus evil is present in nearly every scene. As in most literary works, the author develops different themes expressed in various ways. Symbolism is often the most effective way to express central themes. In Macbeth, Shakespeare creates contrast to effectively strengthen the overriding message of good versus evil.