Examples Of Bird Imagery In Macbeth

: Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic play and one of Shakespeare’s most powerful works. The main character, Macbeth, is a man who becomes corrupted and desires power. Macbeth is also influenced by others such as his wife, and witches. Because of his want for power, Macbeth digs himself deeper into dark evils. After one murder, the first link in a chain reaction, Macbeth starts to murder others, and no longer feels the guilt of taking another’s life. He then decides to be completely evil and forget the past. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses bird imagery to illustrate Macbeth’s changing nature.

BP1: The first example of bird imagery is found in act one scene two. The Captain compares Macbeth’s reaction to another attack “As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion”(35). An eagle is a powerful, majestic, and swift bird. Sparrows are smaller than eagles; when in a fight, the eagle has full control of the situation, and is not afraid of the sparrow. Macbeth and Banquo represent the eagle, the “new supplies of

Macbeth compares his servants expression to a goose and says, “Where got’st thou that goose look?”(12). In comparing a man to a goose, Macbeth immediately has more power. A goose is an animal that is eaten at the table of nobles and is a herbivore- it is a harmless creature. Essentially, Macbeth is the supreme in this situation, he is stronger and more powerful than everyone. He is the man who know presy on the death of others for his power. The goose is another weak human to him that gets in the way of his plans. He intends to kill all the people that get in his way because they are just another annoying bird. Unfortunately, there is only one person who can kill Macbeth. Therefore, Macbeth kills many weak and innocent people because they are like geese. They can’t protect themselves and then die. From this example, Macbeth is seen as a lost and evil man-he is past the point of no