Motifs that have been described in this play so far
Macbeth is a play that has many different reoccurring motifs. Among these motifs are supernatural occurrences, paradoxes, manhood and atmosphere or weather. Although there are many different motifs, clearly the supernatural and weather are dominant and reoccur the most and therefore play an important role in the play.The play starts with the three witches. This scene has a mystical setting illustrated with "thunder and lightning." This scene includes ideas of weather and supernatural, which go hand in hand throughout the story. One witch says, "When shall we three meet again?/In thunder, lightning, or in rain?". This is the second line of the play and already there are references to weather. At the end of the scene, all together, the witches chant, "...Hover through the fog and filthy air." This statement includes both images of supernatural (hover) and images of weather (fog and filthy air). The witches are a main source of the supernatural occurrences in the play. They also give an impression of fear, horror and mystery. It is important of them to start the play, as they are the catalysts for all Macbeth's decisions, thus it is obvious they affect the play quite a bit. Some of their supernatural abilities are foretelling the f
Shakespeare also uses animal actions as supernatural events. After Duncan dies there is a supernatural event involving animals. In order to convey the tragic event, Shakespeare uses animals to convey the state of the country, for example, when the horses eat each other after Duncan has been killed. This shows that Scotland is in a state of disorder. The witches also speak in riddles, "fair is foul and foul is fair." This too gives a mystical, uneasy atmosphere. The witches primarily give the play an uneasy feel because they are violating natural order. Another factor is that the murder took place at night, which gives a creepy and scary feeling. It adds mystery and a majority of the people do not know who killed Duncan. You could say light is a metaphor for truth, because all the lying and treachery happen in the dark. Whenever the witches are around there is rain. Not only does the weather show the mood of the play, it also warns of things going wrong in the play. After Banquo went to bed, on the night of the murder, Macbeth hallucinates, and sees a dagger in the air, and then he tells himself that it is the time of night for such a hallucination: "Now o'er the one half-world Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse The curtain'd sleep." "Nature seems dead" because it is dark and quiet out, but as people fall asleep human nature seems dead, too, and then wicked supernatural dreams ca
Some common words found in the essay are:
Lady Macbeth, , Duncan Instead, lady macbeth, Hecate Macbeth, milk gall, nature dead, kill duncan, duncan lady macbeth, Duncan Lady, compunctious visitings nature, fog filthy air, nature dead wicked, animals convey, filthy air, calls evil spirits, murder macbeth, murdering ministers, visitings nature, thunder lightning,
Approximate Word count = 943
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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