The Importance Of Night Environment In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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.

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.

Known for his tragedy, intrigue, comedy, and romance, Shakespeare extends his boundary of prowess in the play Macbeth. The irony present in the play, the double-meaning of the characters’ actions, and the complexity of setting all contribute to a thrilling story of murder and looking beyond the superficial. Dramatic, situational, and verbal irony greatly contribute to the theme of things are not what they seem in Macbeth text and film. Shakespeare uses the contrast in irony to convey this in the character’s words, actions, and the audience’s awareness. The textual and film evidence fully supports the theme and displays the author’s affluent use of irony.

Ambition and evil are the basic elements in William Shakespeare"s Macbeth. Macbeth is a tragedy which was written by Shakespeare in the Elizabethan Era. There was much use of Raphael Holinshed"s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland as it was necessary for creating the environments and situations in the play. Macbeth takes place mainly in Scotland and is a play about an ambitious thane, named Macbeth, and his wife whose flaws lead to their demise. Since Macbeth is a tragedy, probably nothing else would be as suitable for the play than darkness imagery.

Darkness (night) is everywhere in the book and everything associated with death. I realized that Shakespeare is foreshadowing Banquo’s death through the words that he speaks. At this moment Banquo tells Macbeth that he’s leaving with Fleance on his horse for fear of Macbeth “violent” nature. It points to that exact moment to where Macbeth is formulating to murder both Banquo and his son. The line “borrower of the night / For a dark hour…” which I think leads to Banquo’s apparition showing up to the banquet, to torment Macbeth’s mind.” For it was not Macbeth’s first murder, Banquo was a fellow friend of his and in this example not only he wasn’t suggested on my his wife but his objective demonstrate his absolute ambition. As he tried to kill

Without the creation of the three witches by Shakespeare, Macbeth’s downfall would have happened more gradually, and possibly completely differently.

After the moon is down, Banquo speaks to Macbeth about his dream,“All’s well./ I dreamt last night of the three Weïrd Sisters./ To you they have showed some truth”(2.1.24-26). The mood is dark because it is about the prophecy. It is also a sign of bad thing is about to happen. What might happen in order for Macbeth become king. Banquo mention the prophecy that Macbeth will be king. But in order for Macbeth become king Duncan has to die. So there will be something evil happens later on. Macbeth is walking to Duncan’s room and havings a conversation with himself before commit the crime, “Now o’er the one-half world/ Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse/ The curtained sleep”(2.1.61-63). The author create a dark mood by saying half of the world is sleeping as death. And this is the darkest time of the night. Half of world is sleeping and he is about to commit the crime. This is the midnight, the darkest part of the night when people all sleep like death and wicked dreams abuse them. These quotes have contributed to the dark and evil theme of the

At the beginning of scene 1, Banquo says, “and I fear, / Thou played’st most foully for ‘t,” (III. 1. 2-3). He believes that Macbeth cheated to gain the titles that the prophecies revealed to him. Later, Macbeth enters and reveals that he fears Banquo and is paranoid that Banquo knows what he did to Duncan. His paranoia leads him to hire two murderers to kill Banquo before a dinner gathering planned for that night. At dinner, Banquo’s ghost comes back to haunt Macbeth. The paranoia and guilt from the murder of Banquo causes Macbeth to see the ghost. Macbeth begins to scream at the ghost in front of all his thanes, and they begin to question his mental state. At the end of the act, he tells Lady Macbeth, “There’s not a one of them but in his house, / I keep a servant fee’d,” (III. 4. 131-132). The paranoia he feels has reached a point where he feels he needs to have spies in all the thanes’ houses to know what they are saying. The paranoia he feels is a result of the desperation he feels to maintain his new position as

7. One theme of the play is that "things are not as they seem". What action takes place that night that is also not as it seems?

The overall mood for this scene is dark because Banquo is having cursd thoughts while he sleeps. Banquo talks to fleance in the night before duncan's murder about his cursed thoughts. Take thee that too. A heavy summons lies like lead upon me,/ And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers,/ Restrain in me the cursèd thoughts that nature/ Gives way to in repose(2.1.5-11). The unnatural motif show how Banquo's cursed thoughts negatively affect him causing him a lack of sleep. Banquo is talking to macbeth about the dreams he has about the witches. All’s well./ I dreamt last night of the

The natural order of the world is disrupted; this is made obvious from the start of the play. Even though they generally speak in riddle, the three witches are significant characters because of their foresight and knowledge of future atmosphere.

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

Macbeth   Sleep is a time when our minds are at rest and the subconscious comes out to play.  Sleep is oftentimes considered the place where we are able to see into our future and perhaps figure out how to solve our problems.  Sleep is also what heals and cures our minds and bodies.  Without sleep we slowly begin to disintegrate.  Mind and body no longer cooperate without the healing force sleep brings with it.  Shakespeare uses sleep both as a reward and as a consequence in his plays.  If a character is innocent and pure, he is allowed restful, fulfilling sleep.  If the character lacks these traits of goodness, he is condemned to a lifetime

At the very beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is provoked by the letter she receives by Macbeth and starts plotting the murder of Duncan. She also wishes she were a man such that she could commit the murder all by herself saying so in Act 1 Scene 5, “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty” (Macbeth 1.5.36-52). She appeals to these spirits to remove all aspects of her femininity and seeks to gain power through the prophecy of the witches. Her fear about the ability of her husband to commit the murder is subdued in her designated gender. Lady Macbeth manages her feminine power through her sensuality and pretended weakness through her fainting streak at the notice of Duncan’s death. Manipulation, usually through sexuality is often depicted as the source of women’s power still Lady Macbeth uses this power of hers to commit murder, a masculine demonstration of power. Lady Macbeth in her soliloquy about the planning of Duncan’s death refers to her husband as an individual who plays honestly and does not engage in wrongdoing.

By using the heath and castles as contrasting settings in Macbeth, William Shakespeare reinforces and reflects various themes present throughout the play. Through the combined use of these settings, he contrasts notions of security and danger, fairness and foulness, and the natural and supernatural. Although the heath is a meeting place for evil and is represented as a grim location through a number of methods, the heath itself is safe. Contrarily, the castles that Macbeth inhabits, both Inverness and Dunsinane, are repeatedly described as safe, secure, and welcoming. These castles, however, are far more dangerous than the heath, acting more as traps than shelter. The notions of