Symbolism in the Loss of Light in Macbeth

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'Light' symbolizes truth, goodness, awareness, innocence and purity, everything linked to positive attributes. Light can represent anything Godly and saintly.

‘Darkness’ is the opposite of light. It symbolizes evil, unawareness, mischief, blindness and treachery.

Firstly, both the murders of King Duncan and Banquo are committed at night, when the sun has set and darkness has fallen.

Furthermore, when Lady Macbeth plots the murder of King Duncan she calls the “thick night” to “pall” “in the dunnest smoke of Hell” to hide her actions. She depends on the darkness to carry out the sinister deed. In addition, before and after the murder, there is much mention of nocturnal animals, for example, how the “owls shriek’d” and the “crickets cry”.

Macbeth also tells the stars to “hide their fire”, which shows a reference to one of King Duncan’s lines when he mentions that “the signs of nobility are like stars”. Therefore Macbeth wants to hide the light when he does the deed.

After the murder of King Duncan, Ross speaks to an old man about it, and of how the “dark Night strangles the traveling lamp”. He also mentions “Night’s predominance” over “the Day’s shame”. He probably thinks that the loss of Duncan equates to loss of everything ‘proper’, since he speaks of strange happenings, like horses eating their own kind. This displays a state of chaos and unawareness which is linked to darkness.

Towards the end of Act 3 scene 2, Macbeth speaks of his plan to kill Banquo, and he then calls the “sealing Night (to) scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day”. He also mentions that the “Good things of day begin to droop and drowse / Whiles Night’s black agents to their preys do rouse”, which yet again makes a reference to nocturnal animals (preys). It also shows darkness taking over light, or in this case, Macbeth’s evil plot to get rid of the “worthy Banquo”.

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