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The Imagery Of Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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The imagery of Macbeth institutes a dark, evil aura that surrounds nearly every aspect of the play. Images of evil beings, murder, as well as the natural and supernatural help to set this sinister mood throughout the play. The three witches are a dominant source of evil in Macbeth. They are the first characters introduced, emphasizing their significance in the play as well as their aura of darkness. Their first meeting takes place in thunder and lightening, a dark, chaotic, and dangerous environment, which sets the tone and atmosphere for the rest of the play . They also use a multitude of paradoxical and contradictory statements, indicating a sense of deception (1.1.2-10). They say that the battle, referring to the battle between Scotland, led by Banquo and Macbeth, and the armies of Ireland and Norway, will be “ere the set of sun,”(1.1.5). The witches mean that this battle will be finished by the time the sun has set, leaving any following events to occur in darkness. In their second meeting, their evil and power is accentuated when they describe their actions; killing swine and wrecking the ships of sailors (1.3. 2-30). This foreshadow’s the dark consequences of their meeting with Macbeth. Furthermore, the witches act as Macbeth’s stimulus into a descent into evil. The witches take advantage of Macbeth’s covert desire for power, and influence him to fulfill his own prophecy, to quench their own desire for a world of chaos. The line, “ All hail Macbeth that shalt be King

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