Darkness In Macbeth

Ambition and evil are the basic elements in William Shakespeare"s Macbeth. Macbeth is a tragedy which was written by Shakespeare in the Elizabethan Era. There was much use of Raphael Holinshed"s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland as it was necessary for creating the environments and situations in the play. Macbeth takes place mainly in Scotland and is a play about an ambitious thane, named Macbeth, and his wife whose flaws lead to their demise. Since Macbeth is a tragedy, probably nothing else would be as suitable for the play than darkness imagery.

Throughout the story, Macbeth controls the life of various characters, as well as his own. When his future was being foretold, Macbeth affirms the acceptance of taking the throne of Scotland by saying, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir.” (1.3). Afterwards, the knight says, “Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires…” (1.4). The presentation of this quote elucidates Macbeth’s “black and deep desires” are to eliminate King Duncan and take drastic measures to reign Scotland. Likewise, the overwhelming temptation of power intoxicates Macbeth's mind which leads him to participate in Duncan's murder. Afterwards, Macbeth agonizes the thought of being guilty about the king's death. 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.

Despite his fearless character in battle, Macbeth is concerned by the prophecies of the Witches, and his thoughts remain confused, both before, during, and after his murder of King Duncan. When Duncan announces that he intends the kingdom to pass to his son Malcolm, Macbeth appears frustrated. When he is about to commit the murder, he undergoes terrible pangs of conscience. Macbeth is at his most human and considerate when his masculinity is ridiculed and degraded by his wife. However, Macbeth has resolved himself into a far more stereotypical villain and asserts his manliness over that of his wife. His ambition now begins to spur him toward further horrible deeds, and he starts to disregard and even to challenge fate. Nevertheless, the newfound resolve causes Macbeth to move onward.

In the first act of Macbeth, Malcolm is given the title as King Duncan’s successor meaning he is next in line to the throne. The imagery of light is first used to portray the bravery and

In the closing act of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," Macbeth is characterized by a profound sense of existential emptiness and defiant pride. The character of Macbeth undergoes a transformative exploration of his psyche in the final act of the play. As Macbeth faces the imminent threat of invasion and his own internal turmoil, he grapples with a profound sense of alienation and despair, estranged from his humanity by his insatiable ambition. Concurrently, he defiantly refuses to yield, clinging to a false sense of invincibility despite the inevitability of his downfall. These dual facets of Macbeth's character illuminate the complex interplay between pride and despair, ultimately leading to his tragic demise.

Revolution and replacement of power are recurring events that are still being recycled today. Not only in nations, but in organizations and workplaces. Typically the new leader is promoted by supporters or earns his/her way to the top. It is unnatural to leap from a lower position to the top rank of a hierarchy in a short timeframe, let alone achieve your rank by committing murder. In Macbeth nature and symbols of nature ironically reflect the unnatural doings of the characters throughout the play.

Later in the play, after King Duncan gratefully thanked Macbeth for his duty in battle, Duncan then names his son Prince of Cumberland. With foul intentions, Macbeth says, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.” He asks the stars to hid their darkness so that no one could see that he will have to kill King Duncan to make the witches’ prophecies come true. Right before the murderers go to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, Macbeth says, “Come, seeling night.” All evil actions, take place in the darkness and there is no light to stop the darkness. Macbeth's ambition has taken him over and there is no turning back. Later in the play, after King Duncan gratefully thanked Macbeth for his duty in battle, Duncan then names his son Prince of Cumberland. With foul intentions, Macbeth says, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.” He asks the stars to hid their darkness so that no one could see that he will have to kill King Duncan to make the witches’ prophecies come

Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.

The second symbol that William Shakespeare uses to demonstrate symbolism and imagery efficiently is the nature of the play. Shakespeare establishes the effective use of nature throughout the play Macbeth. For instance, at the start of the play Macbeth when the three witches were together discussed about where they should meet again. As the second witch quotes, “ When the hurlyburly's done. /When

Macbeth is very reluctant to react on his instincts to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth is able to ease her husband’s nerves and convince him that it is his best interests to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth, full of ambition for her husband knows darkness must cover their crimes. She calls upon the night as aid. “Come, thick night and pall thee dunnest smoke of hell nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark.” (Act 1 Scene 5, lines 50-53) at several times in the Macbeth reference the night as a universal symbol of evil. The dark night in other words, reflects the deep dark desires in Macbeth. After he succeeds the first time by going against his conscience, Macbeth is confident in killing others now. He turns his nature of being dark and becomes numb to all emotions. He became selfish and killing was no longer a moral issue for Macbeth. He becomes thirsty for blood and impulsively kills with no remorse. After doing so many dark and evil things, Macbeth fears no evil because he is evil. His the king of death himself and stops at nothing to get what he wants and to fulfill his ambitions. He walks in darkness and has no desire to escape the very thing that possess his soul and mind. Macbeth become not only the king of Scotland but also the King of death and

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a story of a man whose ambition and fear gets him the crown but the consequences of his actions catch up to him. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth many ideas, or motifs are prevalent throughout the story. Some motifs help with character development, explaining situations, or giving a bigger or better meaning to what is there.

Macbeth foreshadows his dark deed when he says, “Stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.57-8). The dark deed that he plans indicates his long sought after aspiration to be the strongest and most influential person in Scotland. The way Macbeth says this quote signifies that he does not want anyone to know the truth; he wants it to be laced in secrecy. Macbeth begins to think that the plan will fail, and Lady Macbeth suggests that Macbeth is not a real man: “What beast was ‘t then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man” (1.7.53-8).

Macbeth displays a glimpse of darkness after he discovers that King Duncan has announced that Malcolm The Prince of Cumberland will in the future take the throne and become the new King of Scotland. Consequently, Macbeth realizes that this jeopardize his

It is human nature to be intrigued by all things mystical and dangerous. We fear the unknown but seek it nonetheless out of greed. Most of Shakespeare’s works hold an element of the supernatural and the play Macbeth is no exception. In this play we see a contemporary morality that warns of the dangers of trafficking with instruments of darkness; the witches in the play prophesize of Macbeths future as king, and Macbeth blinded by his hunger for power fails to recognize that the witches prophecies are luring him to evil . In act 1 scène 3 we see the effect that the excitement of the prophecies has had on his imagination as he begins to contemplate murdering the king. As Macbeth gets closer to