Macbeth symbolism
In our society, darkness tends to be the primary characteristic of evil. A black cat, a "dark and stormy night," and a dark alley, for instance, are all modern day symbols of wickedness and evil. Authors many times will use these and other symbols to describe an evil character or setting. William Shakespeare employs the imagery of darkness throughout his play of Macbeth. He uses dark images often to describe instruments of disorder and the evils which characters act upon. In Macbeth, Shakespeare's use of the night's dark hour's give a sense of evil to the play. The words, actions, and descriptions of people such as the witches, Macbeth shows this, and even of other characters who are thought to be against all evil. Evil is present throughout the play, at a time when there is no light, and Scotland is covered by a shadow of darkness. In Macbeth, the witches are a prime source of darkness. First of all, the place and time of the witch's meetings all take on the feeling of darkness. The only times of their meetings are in the middle of the night, and often in terrible conditions of thunder and lightning. The witches meet in a dark cave. The cave is an appropriate setting for the witches because caves are murky and glo
Nighttime is also the time in which Banquo is murdered. Banquo and his son must leave one day from Scone, but will make it back in time for Macbeth's banquet. "As far, my lord, as I will fill up the time...I must become a borrower of the night. For a dark hour of twain," Banquo says to Macbeth, stating his intentions. When Macbeth hears that Banquo and Fleance will be returning home at night, he commissions two murderers and says to them "The moment on't; for't must be done tonight...Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart." Macbeth tells the murderers that Banquo must be killed that night in the dark, when no one else will see. This is a specific reference to dark connected to the evil act of murder. Banquo and his son come riding that night, and the assassins kill Banquo, but Fleance escapes. Scotland is also described as being a dark place when under the control of Macbeth. Malcom describes it as "shrouded in darkness" in Act IV, after he flees to England to escape Macbeth's tyranny. Under Macbeth's leadership, Scotland is filled with "sighs, and groans, and shrieks, that rent the air," all signs that something horrible has enveloped the country and its leader (Act IV, iii, 168). Macduff describes Scotland as "O nation miserable!" (Act IV, iii, 103). All of these descriptions of Scotland portray it as a place where the agents of darkness have shrouded the land. The dark images in Macbeth portray a sense of evil throughout the entire play. The witches are the epitome of evil, and their appearance and their gatherings show their darkness. Being "secret" and "black hags", their evil nature is also indicated. The time in which the witches meet also shows how darkness represents evil. This is where night comes into play. The witches always and only meet at night, and night is also the time when tw
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1236
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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