How Does Shakespeare Use Metaphors In Macbeth

Recalling the stereotype associated with witches, one can understand why the witches speak and act the way they do in the play, Macbeth. The character of the witches can be explored through their peculiar use of language. While they do not speak in iambic pentameter, the use of 10-11 syllables per line which indicates high status, they speak in trochaic tetrameter; each line is made up of seven syllables. This creates a sinister atmosphere. The three witches use prose as their language lacks rhythmic structure. Together with short and quick rhythm, rhyme is evident in their words, “When shall we three meet again/ In thunder, lightning or in rain?” From this quote one can grasp that the witches speak abnormally and cryptically. A paradox, a statement that contradicts itself, is also highlighted in their speech: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”; the reader understands that this is an indication of things changing and bad things occurring. “When the battle’s lost and won”; in a battle, it is either announced that one has won or lost, but in the previous quote, it makes mention of both winning and losing. “But in a sieve I’ll thither sail”; a sieve has holes and is used to separate solids from liquid. One cannot sail in something with holes. “And, like a rat without a tail”; like a human is born with ears, a rat is born with a tail. Rats do not exist

In the famous play “Macbeth” by Shakespeare, the character Banquo is a dynamic character that is the loyal best friend of Macbeth. Banquo throughout the play was well known for his friendship with Macbeth rather than his courageous efforts during the battle he had won alongside Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, Banquo was in Macbeth’s shadow, but after he was told his family lineage will become king one day, he gradually become more aware of the powerful life his family may one day have. As he becomes more interested in his family’s future title as kings, he is a natural threat to Macbeth’s power and becomes Macbeth’s next victim. Banquo is Macbeth’s biggest threat to his power, but Banquo is also dangerous because he is smart, brave, and optimistic of his children’s future as king.

Audience becomes aware of Macbeth’s corruption when he plans to kill his ‘friend’, Banquo. He describes him as “dispatched” (3.4.15), and later as “safe” (3.4.25). This positions the audience to feel as though Macbeth is somewhat desperate to convince himself that he has acted appropriately despite using corrupt power. Using this stylistic device of language further demonstrates that Macbeth has now been corrupted to the extent that he longer feels compassion for his former companions. This ultimately establishes the representation that Macbeth’s illegitimate power has directly resulted in his destructive nature.

Shakespeare never fails to stun an audience with a complex yet entertaining character. His play of Macbeth is no exception. One might judge Macbeth to be the valiant hero of the play, to the audiences surprise and bewilderment, he is also the villain. To create such a character requires an unparalleled plot and great writing skill. Macbeth’s character is expressed in a way that relates to the audience. His moral transformation from valiant to vile, his moral hesitation and his torturing conscience are all elements that condemn Macbeth but at the same time evoke the audience’s sympathy.

In the tragedy, Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, supernatural predictions affect Macbeth's actions. His reactions reveal his true character of greed for power by interfering in any way he can. Banquo's reaction to the witches’ prediction reveal his true character to be curious, static, and inquisitive, a contrast to Macbeth, enlightening us that one doesn't have to do wrong to end up with power.

Words are powerful. They can express thoughts. They can manipulate. They can drive a man to commit murder. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, through her eloquent diction and rhetoric, compels Macbeth to murder anyone in his way to becoming king. An idea that was once abstract and theoretical becomes a reality.

In this soliloquy we learn of Macbeth's internal fight to follow the supernatural promises he has been given and murder Duncan. Macbeth question himself and his true intentions. The plot continues with Macbeth continuing to question his true intentions and is frozen at times at the thought of murdering Duncan.”Shakes so my single state of man that function Is smother'd in surmise”. Imagery is used to connect the reader with feelings of nervousness and fearfulness.

The tragic hero’s downfall can easily be paralleled against the idea of darkness encompassing the haunting and negative tolls taken on Macbeth due to bloodshed and fear. Toward the beginning of the play, Macbeth asks, “Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.53). By this, Macbeth is begging that the stars and light be gone in order to disguise his true desires of power, bloodlust, and murder. Shakespeare uses darkness throughout the play to illustrate Macbeth’s inner turmoil, but uses light to depict Banquo’s inner peace, thus making them foils. Banquo is in desperation for lightness when stating, “Hold, take my sword. There’s husbandry in heaven;/ Their candles are all out” (2.1.4-5), unlike Macbeth who is desperate for complete darkness. The pair’s requests mirror the depths of their true personalities of Banquo’s good verses Macbeth’s evil. In a critical article, L.C. Knights determined that “The main theme of the reversal of values is given out simply and clearly in the first scene—’Fair is foul, and foul is fair’; and with it are associated premonitions of the conflict, disorder and moral darkness into which Macbeth will plunge himself.”(Knights). This analysis of the characters’ shifts in personality traits and points of views is supported numerous times within examples of Shakespeare’s darkness imagery. The blurred line between what

All of these lines compare Macbeth to something in nature. Lady Macbeth’s line says that Macbeth needs to look like a flower but really be a snake deep down. She is saying he needs to look as sweet and innocent as a flower but truely be a snake. The lines from the King and Banquo are talking about Macbeth’s castle. How peaceful and lovely it is. This is symbolism of how Macbeth appears. He looks

In the dramatic play of, “ The Tragedy of Macbeth,” written by William Shakespeare, the tragedy is set around the 11th Century, in Scotland and England, where a young nobleman, named Macbeth, is foreshadowed to be a king, and soon becomes a reality by going on a hunt for power and control in his kingdom. Shakespeare creates the play using various forms of literary elements, which benefit in impacting the reader with the theme of the play. Many forms that are used throughout the play include, foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and Macbeth’s aside’s and soliloquys that are spoken through his fateful journey for king.

Shakespeare’s use of assonance accentuates Macbeth’s hesitance to kill Duncan, emphasizing the layered metaphors which illustrate the wheel of Fortune. Through his metaphors of how the pupil will turn against his teacher, the monster will attack its creator, shakespeare “Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return / To plague th' inventor: this even-handed justice / Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice / To our own lips,” (1,7,9-12). The pupil will turn against his teacher, the monster will attack its creator. The repetition of the initial vowel sounds leads to quick shapes between metaphors. This rapid change of pace also exemplifies how quickly the tides may shift in the play. The wheel of fortune is subjected to turn quicker than both Macbeth and maybe Macbeth expected. In short, Macbeth’s hesitance to kill Duncan meshed with how the wheel of fortune, are the outcomes of Shakespeare’s deliberate use assonance with metaphor.

Act 1, Scene 7 of Macbeth opens with an aside from Macbeth himself. He discusses the upcoming murder of Duncan, and through Shakespeare’s diction he shows that Macbeth is clearly aware of evil, is knowledgeable about the consequences that the murder would create (Discusses consequences from lines 1 to 10), and the depths of his dark desires (Lines 6 to 7 states that he would risk eternal damnation to be king). Lines 8 to 9 are the first of many lines to link blood to guilt and cosmic retribution. Blood is a recurring motif throughout the play. The mention of the ‘poisoned chalice’ in line 11 foreshadows Duncan’s murder and is one of many murder-weapon mentions. In Macbeth’s aside metaphors are strongly used to create a stronger effect on the reader; in lines 25 to 28 Shakespeare uses horse metaphors to represent Macbeth’s ambitions and its effects.

The highly-acclaimed playwright, William Shakespeare, is notorious for his frequent use of symbols and imagery in his works of literature. Shakespeare’s Macbeth poses as another one of his works of literature in which symbolism and imagery is prominent. In particular, act two, scene one, the scene in which Macbeth proceeds to murder King Duncan, includes the recurring symbols of the “Three Weird Sisters” and the floating dagger. Additionally, the use of imagery is prominent in Shakespeare’s ability to touch on images of darkness and blood. Taking a closer look at the character of Macbeth, it is evident that his actions are a result of his id, ego, and supergo—an idea premised on the theory of psychoanalytic criticism. Through these perspectives, both the audience and readers alike develop a more educated understanding of Macbeth.

Macbeth now first questions Banquo's on his feelings about his descendants becoming kings and then starts thinking of killing King Duncan to make prophecy fact but later hopes fate alone will spare him the need to kill...