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Bird Imagery In Macbeth

1699 Words7 Pages

Discovering One Bird At a Time In the tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses bird imagery to represent several events that take place in the plot. The use of bird imagery is used to give details about the characters personality and characteristics. Shakespeare uses this imagery to showcase the significance of what is happening and what characters are being involved. Many of these birds were used to describe characters such as Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Macduff, and Lady Macduff. Birds are used as a motif because of the visible world of hierarchy that exists in their species and this easily represents the proceedings in the play. Birds, primarily the owl, symbolize Macbeth many times because of his horrific deeds. An owl is usually defined as a predatory bird that is active during the night. It lives within the darkness which includes magic, …show more content…

Shakespeare uses birds in this play to appeal to the audience's imagination and let them predict the future of these characters. By doing this, it establishes mood and tone, for both the author and the audience because it reveals personalities of the characters that the birds portray. Shakespeare's use of bird imagery in Macbeth gives frightening descriptions that also sets the tone for the play. With the use of bird imagery it uses metaphors to make the language richer and enjoyable. It is important to note that in Shakespeare's time, these references to birds would of conjured up the metaphor for most members of the audience. In addition, Shakespeare had to utilize imagery because it adds beauty to his work and establish his own rhetoric. With the quantity of imagery that is being used, it is noted that he is knowledgeable about superstitions. With these superstitions it adds to the effect of making people frightened, from this it shows that Shakespeare is brilliant with

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