Examples Of Light In Macbeth

A.C. Bradley wrote that about Macbeth: “darkness, we may even say blackness, broods over this tragedy... all the scenes which at once recur to memory take place either at night or in some dark spot.” The Tragedy of Macbeth contains many instances where darkness is represented and portrayed whether it occurs at night or the actions. Many actions that were completed by Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the prophecies told by the witches, all have corrupt intentions or outcomes.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth is an ominous tale that illustrates the danger in violating the Great Chain of Being, the hierarchy of things in God's ordered universe. The Chain ranked all of creation and human society as well. It ranked kings above nobles and nobles above the poor. When Macbeth murdered King Duncan and assumed the throne, the Chain was violated and chaos resulted. The atmosphere of the play symbolized this resulting turmoil. Specifically, light and darkness were used to exemplify the unnatural chaos and ominous tone of the work. The role of light and the role of darkness relates to the chaos resulting from the violation of the Great Chain of Being.

The use of juxtaposition between starlight and darkness is especially striking in this quotation as it can be linked to the idea of good and evil. This symbolizes the two moral characters of Macbeth, the light being the moral protagonist and the dark being the immoral antagonist. The duplicity also highlights the metamorphosis of Macbeth from good to evil.

Shakespeare uses light imagery to reveal Macbeth’s immoral personality which resulted from greed. Before Banquo was murdered, Macbeth laments to Lady Macbeth, "Light thickens, and the crow makes wing to the rooky wood: Good things of day begin to droop and drowse, whiles night's black agents to their preys do rouse" (III.ii. l50-53). Macbeth explains that eventually anything good will fall away and anything made of evil will rise and take control of the world. Shakespeare uses metaphorical imagery to make Macbeth admit how mentally mutilated he became by his ambition to remain in power by symbolizing him and Lady Macbeth as “night’s agents” or evil beings and Banquo as “good”. Macbeth’s immoral behavior indicates the desire and want for power as a sovereign and what limits he would go to just to ensure his vision, resulting in disfigurement of his kingdom. Furthermore, when Macbeth is debating whether it is alright for him to murder King Duncan, Macbeth notes, “Stars, hide your fires, /Set not light see my black and deep desires;/ The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be/ which the eye fears, when it is done, to see” (I.iv.51-53). Through his words, Macbeth directly admits that he has an immoral side to him and that he wants it to remain concealed to people while he portrays his virtuous persona. Shakespeare

"Let not light see my black and deep desires./ The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be/ Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see" (i, iv, 53-55). Only light enable people to see, but sinners can't see through light owing to their blindness. These black and deep desires are the one corroding the light, bedimming those righteous decisions, in which it could come after anyone. The Shakespearean play of The Tragedy of Macbeth projected a reasonable and moral man on his downfall path. This tragedy originates from the rapacious desire that erodes Macbeth's self-consciousness and completely distorts his heroic character. Certainly, Macbeth's ambitions that blind his eyes must be seem as a dangerous and terrifying identity.

Light and dark plays a big role in imagery as it sets the mood; darkness where evil deeds occur and the light as revealing the deeds. Macbeth is speaking to himself on the side after Malcolm is crowned Prince of Cumberland. “Stars, hide your fires! Let not the light see my black and deep desires”(I.iv.50-51). Macbeth is so greedy that he does not want anyone to see his dark desires to capture the throne:”The idea that only in darkness can such evil deeds be done is ever present”(Spurgeon 124). Macbeth is telling his wife how Banquo and his son, Fleance, need to die. “Come, seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day And with thy bloody and invisible hand Cancel the tear to pieces that great bond which keeps me pale! Light thickens and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood.(Shakespeare, III.ii.46-57). He is calling for the night to cover the daylight so that Banquo can be killed. Macbeth is telling the murderer to kill Banquo and his son.

Darkness imagery is a very good tool for arousing the emotions of the audience. It enables people to create a mental picture of what they are reading. For example, Duncan and Macbeth were talking when Macbeth says aside, "Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires." When words like "black" and "desire" are put in that context it creates many horrible mental pictures about murders and fights which arouses peoples emotions. Ross is later talking with an old man when he states "By the clock `tis day, and yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp." In other words; although, the sun should be out, something is blocking the light. This example of darkness imagery creates an eerie feeling in the reader because it is very abnormal for the sun to be blocked. To help this example of imagery, the sun can also symbolize a monarch or king. Another case of darkness imagery happens when Lady Macbeth and a messenger are talking and Lady Macbeth states, "That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry, 'Hold, hold!'" It creates an sensation of terror in the reader because of the something that is unknown. With night covering the earth like a blanket, no one knows what might happen. Also, Lady Macbeth seems to explain that her attack will be blind. She

As previously stated, Macbeth voices that in order for himself to eventually become king, he is going to have step over him or give up because he believes that Malcolm is in his way. The final statement in this quote reveals that Macbeth’s intentions may not be as they seem, where he states, “Yet let that be, Which the eye fears when it is done to see.” (1.4. 52-53). This foreshadowing makes the audience aware that he will pursue the path that he himself is horrified to see. This device not only creates suspense, but also contributes deeply to the overall theme of appearance versus reality regarding Macbeth and his true colours. Personification is used throughout all of Shakespeare’s most popular plays and is an important role in adding dimension while also emphasizing characters and scenes. This scene in particular conveys an example of pure personification when Macbeth expresses, “Stars, hide your fires” (1.4. 50) where the stars are being given the human attribute of hiding. As the quote progresses, Macbeth asks the stars “Let not light see my black and deep desires”

In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses light and dark to bring out the ideas of good and understanding, and to show the audience the evil and hiding that takes place during the play. Just like Shakespeare, Reilly used light and dark to distinguish between the change of character in Macbeth. Unlike Shakespeare, Reilly also used the colour red in many of his scenes. Red demonstrated evil, and whenever red was used, it was clear that death was near. For instance, just before Mickey killed Charlie, they showed a quick glimpse of Ruthie Bataglia. The light that shown on her face was blood red. The theme of light and dark in "Macbeth" is portrayed with the candles, the shadows, the sun, and the witches.

The idea that: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more” (V.V. xxvii - xxix) conveys that life is something that lacks substance, that it’s an actor who only spends a short time on stage. This metaphor explains how life is short and passes quickly. Finally, Macbeth refers to death as the last act of an awful play or “...a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, / signifying nothing” (V.V. xxix-xxx), demonstrating the ending to a long journey down an existential path.

In preparing herself, Lady Macbeth asks: “’…Come, thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, / That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, / Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry ‘Hold, hold!’’” (1.5.57-61) Lady Macbeth uses night’s assistance to hide her evil deed. The darkness of the night lends itself to the darkness of Lady Macbeth’s soul and is sought only when evil is abounded. The use of night is used by Shakespeare to show that Lady Macbeth wants to use night so she would not be able to see the wound when she kills the King; she wants to use night as a mask to hide her evil intentions.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most mystifying plays and is a study of human nature. The theme of appearance versus reality is apparent in Macbeth. It’s filled with numerous, notable, and significant scenes, including when King Duncan visits the Macbeth’s home, Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene, and Macbeth’s dagger soliloquy. They provide raw, psychological insight into the character of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, showcasing the differing characteristics between the two characters. A quote that has developed synonym with Macbeth is, “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1.1.11) which introduces deceptiveness, debut, and one of the most important themes of this tragedy, appearance versus reality. Shakespeare uses numerous characters and situations to emphasize the confusion between appearance and reality, the real and the surreal, the legitimate and the imposturous. Emphasized in these scenes and throughout the play, Shakespeare successfully portrays the misalignment between appearance and reality.

As aforementioned the symbolism in the play includes that of both light and darkness. Macbeth's insomnia resulting from the pressing guilt and Lady Macbeth's nocturnal excursions while asleep are examples. Macbeth was unable to hide in the dark from the horrors of his deeds and he was haunted by the fear of discovery. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, was afraid of the dark and was using the light in an attempt to dispel her demons.

Shakespeare uses lightness and darkness in Macbeth to represent contrast between good versus evil. Society tends to picture daytime as joyous and safe, while perceiving night as scary and dangerous. The contrast is pivotal in the play. For example, Shakespeare includes lightness and darkness, or more specifically day and night, after Macbeth murders King Duncan. Macbeth’s cousin Ross notices that “by th’ clock 'tis day, and yet the dark night strangles the travelling lamp”. Observing the conditions, he wonders “is’t night’s predominance or the day’s shame that darkness does the face of earth entomb when living light should kiss it?” (Act 2, Scene 4 7-12). While it is daytime, darkness fills the sky. In Shakespeare’s

The play ‘Macbeth’ uses soliloquies with great effect to express the thoughts of individual characters, particularly in the case of the protagonist, Macbeth. In Act V Scene V, strong words from Macbeth convey to the reader two themes of the play.  This soliloquy demonstrates the play's use of irony and the use of the disparity between the great opposition of light and darkness as symbols for both life and death.  This soliloquy is quite significant to the play as a whole since it demonstrates two very important themes as well as leading to a better understanding of Macbeth.