“The Scottish Play”, or more known as “Macbeth” is a play set in medieval Scotland. It describes the life of Macbeth – a brave lord predicted by the witches to become the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, his wife powered by ambition influences Macbeth into committing a horrendous regicide. Imagery is used widely throughout the course of the play, creating a three-dimensional image of the actions, almost as if we were present. Shakespeare in “Macbeth” uses imagery to create a more detailed image and emphasize the themes of violence, murder and darkness. The omnipresent imagery of darkness evokes the sentiments of fear, danger and death. “Come thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke in hell” associates the darkness of the night with supernatural powers, seen in the word “hell”. This creates a sense of unease in the audience, we feel inferior to the outside forces present. Darkness is seen as a blanket for dark deeds, in this case murder. It is described as “thick” – an impenetrable, heavy barrier. This creates a feeling of being captured, that there is no exit from this night. Death is shown in the passage through the use of the word “pall” – a funeral cloth, implying the future murder. The tone is suspicious, threatening. Lady Macbeth is full of madness, bringing fear to the audience. A similar image is portrayed in “nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark”. The image of darkness as a blanket masking the evil is often present throughout the first two acts. “Nor heaven peep” implies the sinful nature of what will be done, as heaven is forced to stay out of it. This suggests supernatural or demonic powers interfering in the actions, creating tension and unease within the audience. Darkness is also seen in the we... ... middle of paper ... ...er Macbeth refused to perform the murder, his ambition is said to “look so green and pale”. White (shown in pale) and green both symbolize cowardice and weakness and are there to demonstrate the full strength of Lady Macbeth’s despise. Imagery of black is also widely used to demonstrate the evil and the supernatural. The night of the murder was described as “there’s husbandry in heaven, their candles are all out”. “Husbandry” means thrift, which creates an image of barely lit skies, a lot darker than usual. The black night often is used as a background for evil. Black has connotation of death, fear and supernatural powers. Colours do play an important role in creating imagery to support the events in the play. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” Elements of Literature. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Austin: Harcourt Brac & Company, 1996. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press New Folger Edition, 1992
Light and darkness represent the tragedies that took place throughout the play. Light represents the good things that happen and darkness represents bad or evil things. One example of light is when Macbeth was given the thane of Gladis he was very elated and there was sunshine at that time. But for darkness its the opposite all the bad events took place during the night for example when Macbeth goes to kill king Duncan because of greed he wasn't happy with the position he received he wanted to be king so he can have more power . Another example of Darkness is when the witches come to tell him his prophecy (I, iii, 125). This is a type of tragic situation because if the witches hadn't appeared and told Macbeth that he would be king he wouldn't have so much lust. In this scene Macbeth describes the witch as an ugly old lady dressed in black. The color black represents the witch’s evil nature. Shakespeare used this traditional symbol through the play to focus on the Elizabethan concept of the Great Chain. When the chain is in order everything is good and there is light. When the chain is violated bad things happen and there is evil and darkness. When Macbeth committed the act of killing Banqu...
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, various types of imagery are used throughout the play. Five of these images are nature, paradoxes, manhood, masks, and light vs. darkness. In Act I, Scene i, Line 1, the description of "Thunder and lightning" represents disturbances in nature. The witches are surrounded by a shroud of thunder and lightning, which might personify them as disturbances. In Act II, Scene i, the dark night creates a perfect scene for the baneful murders.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999.
The absence of light often makes an illusion of innocence to the wicked. Lady Macbeth yearns to be queen by way of her husband killing the king as she calls to the murdering ministers, “come, thick night, / … / That my keen knife see not the wound it makes” (I.5.53-55). Not even the thick night can cover up a murderous act, to Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s disappointment. Darkness exemplifies falseness, opposite of light, which typifies truthfulness. The murder of the king, affects the Great Chain of Being, so that even the “dark night strangles the travelling lamp” (II.4.6). The nature of darkness itself epitomizes wickedness and evil, and it tries to annihilate the light after the regicide, but even in the last scene, Macbeth could not extinguish the indissoluble small light of Malcolm, who grows to shine over the dark. Lady Macbeth secretes her malevolent ways with light, testifying her personality of covering reality. The gentlewoman explains to the Doctor the reason Lady Macbeth holds a candle throughout her sleepwalking: “why, it stood by her. She has light by her continually, ‘tis / her command” (V.1.20-21). This ironic statement means that even Lady Macbeth, master of evil, attempts to make others see her as a gentle lady and having verisimilitude, completely contradicting her true self. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth try to brighten their dark lives with a fake light
... a dark setting used which involved supernatural events, while the light setting was used for last battle, when Macbeth was slain at the end to show the restoration of peace and honesty. Thus the symbolism of light and darkness representing good and evil in the play emphasizes the theme of corruption of power.
Imagery plays a crucial role in developing of the plot. This is seen through the images of clothing, darkness and blood. Clothing in Macbeth is often compared to positions or ranks. Macbeth's ambition caused him to strive to improve his social standing. Darkness establishes the evil parts of the play. Blood the most dominant image in the play brings a sense of guilt and violence to the tragedy. It leads Macbeth to continue his deceitful life. Shakespeare makes his use of imagery well known. Without imagery Macbeth may have lacked because imagery gives an effect on the play as a whole.
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.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print. The New Folger Library Shakespeare.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare confronts audiences with universal and powerful themes of ambition and evil along with its consequences. Shakespeare explores the powerful theme of the human mind’s decent into madness, audiences find this theme most confronting because of its universal relevance. His use of dramatic devices includes soliloquies, animal imagery, clear characterisation and dramatic language. Themes of ambition and mental instability are evident in Lady Macbeth’s reaction to Macbeth’s letter detailing the prophecies, Macbeth’s hallucinations of Banquo’s ghost and finally in the scene where Lady Macbeth is found sleep walking, tortured by her involvement.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997
The lasting images that Shakespeare create represent the mood and atmosphere of the scene, and how the audience feels reacting to Macbeth’s actions when he is pursued by his desire. In the beginning, the readers visualize positivity and light using the imagery. Generally, light symbolizes the good and the powerful. Act I Scene VI describes the scene of Lady Macbeth greeting King Duncan as he agrees to stay at Macbeth’s castle for one night. This scene’s setting is contrasting with the others as it takes place in daylight, in a beautiful serene setting. The plot in this scene occurs before the murder, as a positive image is placed within the reader’s mind. King Duncan describes Macbeth’s castle as: “This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air/ Nimbly and sweet recommends itself/ Unto our gentle senses” (Shakespeare 1.6,1-3) when he first arrives. The light that the audience visualizes from the words “pleasant, sweet and gentle” soon disappears, as the majority of the remaining scenes are filled with a mysterious, ominous mood, representing the evil. This represents that Macbeth’s
The presence of the supernatural forces of the witches was accompanied by the dark, gloomy and thunderous ambience, perhaps functioning as a foreshadowing of future events that involves evil, wickedness and darkness. This is important as it gives the audience an idea of what might happen later in the play. For example, we see that later on in the play, Macbeth turned evil and wicked, killing an old and honourable King Duncan and a loyal friend, Banquo. I take particular note of the significance of darkness as it was later used by Macbeth when he calls upon the "seeing Night" (Act III). Scene II.