Tenebrosity And Light In Macbeth

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.

Macbeth is the ultimate story of a fight between the forces of good and evil. It tells the tale of a tragic hero whose quest for power leads to his ultimate downfall. Macbeth starts out as an honorable warrior but changes when his ambition becomes uncontrollable. As he becomes increasingly paranoid, Macbeth uses violent means to eliminate threats to his Scottish throne. As the play progresses, blood continuously plays a part in the events as the murders become more frequent. William Shakespeare, the author of Macbeth, uses blood imagery to develop Macbeth’s character, create a foil in between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and to symbolize honor and guilt.

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.

Shakespeare sheds light on the dichotomy of good and evil with the connection of death. The motif of light and dark is included each time someone is killed. Lady Macbeth associates the dark with evil and sees it as protection to her in this violent state (lighten up!), “Come, thick night… see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peek through the blanket of the dark” (33). She believes that by being concealed in the shadows of the night, there will be no punishments in the afterlife for her uncivilized actions, alluding to the fear surrounding religion. “There’s husbandry in heaven; their candles are all out” (49). Macbeth could surpass feeling of guilt or knowing his own regret if his conscience could be clouded by the darkness of the night.

In Macbeth, lighting is one element used to reflect key themes and create tension. Lighting creates a dramatically interesting opening scene, and establish a motif of the contrast between darkness (evil) and light (good). In the opening scene, the audience is introduced the three witches. With the effect of “thunder and lightning”, the very dark and flickering lighting helps to foreshadow the approaching chaos, and to set the strange, mysterious atmosphere of the entire movie. This also helps maintain the tension which is a must throughout the piece. Not only here, but lighting enhances the tension of other key scenes as well. For example, ironically, the scenes with the brightest lighting are scenes of war. Thereby, "war" in the movie Macbeth

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, all the conventions of a tragic play are shown with the support of one-word syllable.The word “night” helped exploit the meaning of a Shakespearean tragic plays. Also, it can be interpreted in many different forms. The use of the word can help give more insight of more a graphical; images to the readers. In the play throughout, the main character’s development has changed for the worse as “night” perpetuates throughout. Shakespeare’s use of the word “night” impacts the play as a whole by illustrating imagery such as darkness and hidden secrets, to create more intensity of the idea of the misuse of power and its evil outcome.

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

In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare conveys many important messages and meanings using symbolism. One of the most prevalent symbols contained in this play is that of blood or the color red. Throughout the play, the meaning of the symbol shifts to shed a whole new light on the situation. Through the very early acts of the play, blood is very prevalent. However, in these earlier acts such as act one, the blood symbolizes distress and torment.

These abnormal occupancies portray the impact of Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness on the natural world. Additionally, the Old Man proposes the question of whether it is “the night’s predominance or the day’s shame/ That darkness does the face of the entomb/when living light should kiss it?” and introduces the symbolic metaphor of darkness and light (...). Light is typically associated with righteousness and virtue while darkness typically represents evil, and in this instance, the darkness symbolizes the actions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as well as any guilt that they bear. This struggle between light and darkness, good and evil, sanity and insanity, is a conflict that reappears often throughout the play.

     In the play ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare uses brutal imagery, with association of blood.  The mood of disgust and horror towards the characters and setting is established by the references to the universal representation of death and pain. The first mention of blood seems to establish a sense of honor. The second mention of blood seems to communicate betrayal.  Lastly the third allusion of blood appears to establish a sense of guilt All of these images of blood help develop the atmosphere and scene and contribute to the over all drama of the play.

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 Shakespeare uses the witches, the guilt in Macbeth's soul, and the darkness of the

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