More handpicked essays just for you.
The character traits of macbeth in macbeth macbeth of shakespeare
Use of imagery in Shakespeare work
Use of imagery in Shakespeare work
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody”-Mark Twain. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a tragedy set in medieval Scotland, the main character Macbeth encounters three witches who prophesize that he will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland . Though perplexed at first, Macbeth realizes the prophecy’s validity after becoming Thane of Cawdor and consequently, the extent possibly required to fulfill it. As the play advances, Macbeth’s necessity for power leads him to murder all who stand in his way. Throughout Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the symbolism of night portrays an underlying evil within characters, ultimately revealing how acting upon desire results in the spreading of darkness inside one’s soul.
Prior to the
…show more content…
When Macbeth forms his plan to kill Banquo, and is informing his wife, he remarks that as night approaches, “good things of day begin to droop and drowse,/While night's black agents to their preys do rouse./...Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill” (3.2.56-62). Macbeth’s word choice of “night’s black agents”, “bad”, and “ill” invoke a fearful mood associated with night, which contrasts the “good things of day”. These evil connotations of night, the intended time of the crime, associate with his villainous ideas. Likewise, Hecate, the leader of the witches in the play, who happens to dislike Macbeth states that “this night”, she will cause Macbeth “a dismal and a fatal end./…He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear/He hopes 'bove wisdom, grace and fear” (3.5.20-31). Hecate utilizes word choice including “dismal”, “fatal”, “death”, and “fear” in order to establish a gruesome connotation, highlighting her anger towards Macbeth. Her desire to punish Macbeth for his greed fuels her to construct a plan with emphasized evil to punish him, and her aim to do this at night bridges it with her evil plan. The negatively connotated word choice of characters who have malicious plans at night ties darkness to villainous
Macbeth: Theme of Night vs Day and Evilness “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (I.i.10). This becomes the key phrase in describing Macbeth's downfall. It defines the night vs. day motif, foreshadowing the evil that will soon come. The night vs. day motif is so important in bringing out the theme of evil in this play because almost all of the elements of Macbeth's downfall are revealed at night. Sleeplessness, murder, and the witches' prophecies all become relevant as the drama unfolds.
darkness to Macbeth’s plot of killing Banquo. He is asking the night to come and hide
On the night that Duncan is supposedly going to get murdered, there is some dramatic irony of lightness and darkness demonstrated in the play. After Macbeth leaves Duncan’s castle, he wants the stars to hide their fires, in other words for there to be no stars or moon at night when he kills Duncan. Well his wish was granted, but Banquo is a little suspicious as he tell his son Fleance: “There's husbandry in heaven; / Their candles are all out" (2. 1. 6-7). It is pitch black outside, and darkness symbolizes fear. Then Banquo claims: “Merciful powers/ Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature/ Gives way to in repose” (2. 1. 11-13). It seems like Banquo is very tired but cannot sleep because he is afraid of something but nobody knows what. Banquo explains to Macbeth that he had a dream about the three weird witches. Could the suspicion be growing for Banquo, very dark night, not a star in sight, could Macbeth be planning a murder? Darkness is emphasized in his part of the novel because the darker side of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is shown as there is evil side shows that they will do anything to unrightfully make Macbeth become the new King of Scotland even that includes murder to anybody that gets in their way.
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir?” Macbeth ponders after three witches foresee that he will become king in the tragic play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare (349). Macbeth is wondering how he could become king of Scotland without him intervening as he is not in line for the throne. He believes that he will have to take action to gain this position. Macbeth was right to doubt fate, because his choices led to his ascension to the throne and, later in the play, to his downfall.
Motivated solely by the purging of the one “Which keeps [him] pale,” day transitions to night, and Macbeth prepares to kill Banquo and Fleance as the “light thickens,” connoting that an unfortunate death, the death of Banquo, will soon transpire. The transition from day to night is also symbolic of the ending of Banquo existence. Waiting to ambush Banquo and Fleance, the “black agents,” prepare to commit the questionable crime of assassination “to their preys” (6-9). By utilizing “black” to describe the murderers symbolises their association with evil, and the malicious crime the murderers will commit in secrecy by the darkness of the night. The word “prey” suggests that Banquo and Fleance will be surprised and defenseless to the attack. Speaking again to Lady Macbeth, Macbeth confesses, “bad things begun make strong themselves by ill,” which reveals that due to Macbeth’s involvement with the assassination of King Duncan has led to the fall of his innocence, so now Macbeth is willfully committing an evil act based off of his own plans and decisions without the influence of a third
Use of Night and Darkness in Macbeth Shakespeare is known for his descriptively rich plays. He also ways does an excellent job of describing both the characters as well as the setting. One specific area of the play MacBeth is the use of night and darkness to show evil or happening that are not right. Examples of this are the many appearances of the witches, the murders that occur, and the conflicts that MacBeth faces with his mental health. The following three paragraphs will further discuss these topics.
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, murders the king of Scotland and eventually murders several other people. In the end, Macbeth meets his tragic fate of being killed by the nobleman Macduff. Throughout the play, Macbeth makes decisions that affect his fate, but other characters manipulate his choices and his actions. Early in the play Macbeth, Macbeth has control over his actions, but due to the influence of other characters and his subsequent insanity, by the end of the play, Macbeth has no control over his fate.
The world renowned masterpiece, Macbeth, is a tragedy that has lasted throughout the centuries and has had a significant impact on English literature. The play takes place in turbulent times, in which betrayal, falsehood, and concealment lead to misery. To thoroughly encompass the suffering and wickedness that take place throughout the tragedy, Shakespeare uses dark imagery which evokes a sense of foreboding and imminent evil. A.C. Bradley describes Shakespeare’s technique concerning the imagery with his quote, “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.” Nighttime is associated with unscrupulous beings and actions while morning and afternoon signify all that is good and new beginnings. Time and time again, under the cover of night, the characters of Macbeth commit grave and grievous crimes that would damn the soul to hell and corrupt both the mind and body. Macbeth himself says, “Good things of day begin to droop and drowse,/ Whiles night’s black agents to their preys do rouse” (Act III, scene iii, lines 52-53).
The connotation and meaning of the word change greatly between Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the Witches. Macbeth uses the word with a negative connotation. In Act Four, Scene One, Macbeth calls the Witches “midnight hags” (4.1.49). The word “hag”, by definition, has a negative connotation. Also, by using the word to refer to characters that are known to be evil, it brings forth feelings of distrust and fear. As for meaning, the character Macbeth uses “night” as his shield to hide his evil actions or deeds. When Macbeth feels guilty about what he has done, he calls up upon the spirit of “night” to cover his tracks. He uses “night” as interchangeable with unholy, as shown in his scenes with the Witches. The character of Lady Macbeth also uses the word with a negative connotation. The evil scheming and actions that she commits always happen at night. She uses it to imply death: “the stern’st good-night” (2.2.6). Lady Macbeth uses “night” to hide her traitorous thoughts and actions. In addition, the night time is when she is haunted by her guilt and personal demons, as shown in Act Five, Scene One. In contrast to Macbeth, who wishes for the night to hide his actions once he has committed them, Lady Macbeth longs for the shield before perpetrating the deeds. The third connotation/meaning change comes with the Witches who use “night” in a positive way. They praise the night for preparing a frog for their potion (4.1.4-9). With this in mind, the Witches use “night” in a literal sense. For example, the First Witch proclaims that “sleep shall neither night nor day hang upon his pent-house lid” (1.3.19-20). She uses “night” to provide contrast to “day,” meaning that the sailor that she plans to torture will be so tormented that he will not be able to sleep. Shakespeare purposefully had the Witches use “night” in its literal meaning to show their low class status, for the same reason why
Meanwhile, the increased use of light imagery shows a want for good and regret for past evil. Shakespeare uses light and dark imagery throughout Macbeth to outline that people who believe that they can control evil Lady Macbeth demonstrates this when she says,“Come, thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell”(1.5.49-50) When convincing herself that her thoughts of murder are not inhuman, Lady Macbeth uses being hidden in the dark as a justification for her ambitions. Inviting darkness into herself while knowing that it is bad instead of pushing it away shows that Lady Macbeth is allowing and wanting to corrupt herself. Lady Macbeth not using light imagery (telling light to go away) and choosing to use dark imagery (inviting darkness in) highlights this. Persuading other characters to follow their ambitions regardless of what means they must use to reach a desirable end is how characters corrupt other characters.
Darkness symbolizes chaos, evil, treachery, disorder and going against nature. seen as the light, innocence, or the good. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are creatures of the dark. The murder of the King is set at night. this immediately gives us a feeling of foreboding.
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
Shakespeare often uses darkness and will frequently set the scene as a dark and stormy night. This depicts that evil happenings are occurring or are about to take place. There are at least three examples of this in "Macbeth". "The night has been unruly: where we lay,/Our chimneys were blown down; and, as they say,/Lamentings heard i’ the air; strange screams of death,..." (Act 2 scene 3 line 54-56). "Three score and ten I can remember well;/Within the volume of which time I have seen/Hours of dreadful and things strange, but this sore night/Hath trifled former knowings." (Act 2 scene 4 line 1-4). Both these quotes are talking about the night of Duncan’s death. They are showing the comparisons between the natural unruliness and the anomalous disaster. "And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp." (Act 2 scene 4 line 7) is a metaphor for both the murder of Duncan and the night in which it transpired. A dark and stormy image is also portrayed when pernicious characters (ie. the witches, Macbeth and the murderers) meet.
When I thought about the role that the word "night" would play in the tragic play "Macbeth," I found that there were a variety of possibilities. Immediately, I thought of the nighttime as a period of rest and revitalization. I expected that this would allow characters to recover from the day's many demands. Secondly, I connected the night to the unknown. In the night's cloak of darkness, many more things could go undiscovered than in the revealing light of day. Next, I thought that the night would mean vulnerability. As the evening closes in, everyone begins to wind down, not expecting any real action until the breaking of the dawn. In addition, while one is sleeping, they are susceptible to almost anything. The most logical time to make an attack would definitely be after nightfall. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, is night's correlation with evilness. As children, we were all afraid of nasty monsters that lurked in the darkness of night. The night has long been believed to host supernatural beings and occurrences. As I read the play and came upon the word "night," I was surprised to discover that all four aspects of my hypothesis were correct. First, in act I, we see the first usage, night as a period for rest and revitalization. In scene iii, lines 19-23, the First Witch says,
Splendid Productions adaptation of ‘Macbeth’ was performed on the 13th of December 2016, at the RADA studios, London, and was performed by Scott Smith, Genevieve Say and Mark Bernie. The original version of Macbeth was written in 1606 during the Jacobean era, and the adaptation created in the 21st century. I would agree with the statement as the interpretation by Splendid was created to be enjoyed, engaged and relevant to the audience of the 21st century.