Time Motifs In Shakespeare's Macbeth

Throughout Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, numerous motifs transpire that have a great impact on the story. One motif stood out the most, and that was time. As the play proceeds, time becomes more powerful and intensifies the story. Although time is not a concrete element, this motif has a strong influence on the characters and their actions. From beginning to end, Macbeth’s motifs affect every part of the tale. There are three main motifs that capture the essence of time in Macbeth, one to foreshadow destruction, one during the fall, and another at the height of the pain.

At the very beginning of the play, the reader is introduced to three witches. These witches play an important role, as they foreshadow what is to come later on. As the three are talking, they mention time. The first line reads, “When shall we three meet again? / In thunder, lightning or in rain?” … “That will be ere

Lady Macbeth has just died and Macbeth himself is realizing a fair amount of truths. “She should have died hereafter; / There would have been a time for such a world. / Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day … Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury” (ln 17-27). Macbeth had mocked time and attempted to outrace it, which ends up slowing him down. He has become fully aware that his life is worthless, and now he has lost his wife. Macbeth also recognizes that it would have been better if Lady Macbeth had died at some other time because her death made everything worse. This time motif is the height of Macbeth’s realization of where his life has gone. Duncan, Banquo, and now his wife are dead. He believed that taking the throne was all he needed, but it left him with the opposite. This motif is effective because even though Macbeth is still living in some alternate reality of time, he is slowly coming out of that after the death of his wife. Macbeth is now numb and feels