Imagery in Macbeth
Shakespeare's powerful imagery has never been more apparent than in Macbeth.
He begins the play with a startling image of three witches chanting in a furious
thunderstorm, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air"
(1.1.10-11). The eerie chanting creates a dark, mysterious tone that leaves the reader
feeling uncomfortable and expecting odd and evil things to happen. Later, when
Macbeth and Banquo come across the three weird sisters, the underlying evil creeps back
up when Macbeth says, "So foul and fair a day I have not seen," and Banquo comments,
"What are these So withered, and so wild in their attire, That look not like the inhabitants
o' th' earth" (1.3.38-41). Again the tone is one of dark uncertainty. The reader is forced to
pay close attention through the connotations of pure evil, and Shakespeare uses the
opportunity to relay early in the play Macbeth's motivation and other important
information that will determine the character's fate. The act ends by introducing the evil
incarnate character Lady Macbeth, whose ambition is communicated in her soliloquy,
"...unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty!" (1.5.41-
43). Her plan to make her husband king brings the evil, dark, cold tone full circle for the
desired effect of intriguing the reader and kicking the play into high gear. The tone's
effectiveness can be felt in the reader's desire to proceed deeper into the evil thoughts and
developing plots of the drama.
Act II begins the recurring image of Macbeth's struggle with his decision.
His soliloquy in which he says, "Is this a dagger which I see before me...
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...he room in which the events took place. The act ends with a return to the
dark, mysterious, evil tones of the witches and their leader.
The witch scene signals the beginning of the downfall, and the tone becomes more
hopeless towards Macbeth and the reader senses that he won't be suffering much longer.
This dark tone ends the act with Lennox saying, "May soon return to this our suffering
country...". The tension still stimulates interest in the conclusion of the foreseeable tragedy.
Throughout the act and the play, Shakespeare continually emphasizes the ever-present evil
through images of fear and inner struggle and keeps the tone quite morose with few breaks
for pleasure and relaxation. All the aspects of the tone provide almost a character sketch
of Macbeth and epitomizes the attitude which he takes toward his life and goals.
...rall effectiveness of the play by allowing the audience to make personal connections with the characters as well as strengthening the theme threads.
Macbeth is the story of how an ordinary war hero becomes king and later goes chaotic with power. The story starts off in Scotland when Macbeth and Banquo meet some witches who predict their futures, telling Macbeth that he will be Thane of Cawdor, and the king of Scotland. Ross; one of the king’s lords, delivers the news that Macbeth has become the new Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth now believes that he will become king. To achieve this, Macbeth invites King Duncan over for a dinner.
... in that barren hall with its naked stair... rising into the dim upper hallway where an echo spoke which was not mine ut rather that of the lost irrevocable might-have-been which haunts all houses, all enclosed walls erected by human hands, not for shelter, not for warmth, but to hide from the world's curious looking and seeing the dark turnings which the ancient young delusions of pride and hope and ambition (ay, and love too) take.
the very beginning of the play the three witches are talking and the first witch
conveys feelings of suspense and thrill. There are many different literary criticisms that can be
If a picture tells a thousand words, than imagine the importance of an image upon a play such as Macbeth. In any literary work, it is extremely important that the author can effectively manipulate a reader's feelings towards a character. In Macbeth, that feat is accomplished magnificently by Shakespeare. Through his skillful use of imagery, Shakespeare shows us a deeper look into the true character of Macbeth. Though imagery is widespread throughout Macbeth, it is most dominant in clothing imagery, light and darkness imagery, and blood imagery. Through these images,
'[A]nd indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame the earth seems to me a sterile promontory, this most excellent canopy the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appeareth nothing to me but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.
MACBETH's affirmation of this is reciprocated in Act I, Scene III, when he echoes the witches words, "So fair and foul a day I have not seen."
It is easier to grasp a meaning of this line further along in the book.
... also allows for deeper plot development with the characters back stories and ties two seemingly unrelated events into one flowing story removing the need to use in medias res. The shared point of view is extreamly important in connecting the story with the theme and allows for the reader to pick up on the foreshadowing and irony present throughout the story.
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, symbolism plays a prominent role to emphasize the theme of corruption of power. Throughout the play there are several main symbols repeatedly used to emphasize this theme. The contrast of light and dark representing good and evil, blood representing guilt, murder, and pain, and the archetypal pattern of purification by using water represents removal of guilt, cleansing and peace. Symbolism is used repeatedly to emphasize the theme of corruption of power.
Shakespeare uses a lot of imagery of night and darkness in Macbeth. This imagery is used to portray an image of a desolate, deranged place, full of tumult and disorder. Darkness and night imagery is also used to create an atmosphere of malevolence and misleading obscurity. Images of night and darkness are often used at times in the play when a death has occurred, or some other tragic event. Shakespeare also uses imagery of night and darkness in scenes with the witches, to make them seem evil and unruly. When someone is doing or thinking of something evil, there is often imagery of night and darkness, which helps to causes it to appear more evil and deranged. The images of night and darkness make the play more entertaining and captivating, which maintains the audience’s attention.
Shakespeare uses many forms of imagery in his plays. Imagery, the art of making images, the products of imagination. In the play Macbeth Shakespeare applies the imagery of clothing, darkness and blood. Each detail in his imagery contains an important symbol of the play. These symbols need to be understood in order to interpret the entire play.
...ing more immersed within the story – much like the act of ‘Bunburying’ which forces the reader to continuously deliberate on what actually occurs during this activity.
allows the reader to feel as if he/she were there. It is about a young