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Imagery And Symbolism In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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Symbolism in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is abundant. I believe that the symbolism in Macbeth shown through supernatural elements is to help the reader understand what is going on in the movement or even in the future. One example of symbolism shown in Macbeth is the dagger scene in Act 2. The dagger floats in the air with its handle toward Macbeth's hand, and he feels as if he is being led by a force that is larger than himself, and as if his fate is out of his control. With the dagger already bloody and pointing toward the King’s chamber it symbolizes the bloody path that Macbeth is about to take. The dagger can represent the guilt that Macbeth feels for even romanticizing the thought of killing Duncan, his friend, and the king. It can
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Right before he murders King Duncan, Macbeth hallucinates a floating dagger, and fearfully states, “Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going (2.1.41).” This quote depicts Macbeth’s dagger floating towards King Duncan’s room which is where the murder will take place. It is important that the dagger leads Macbeth to the room, not guiding him as Macbeth was already heading to King Duncan’s room. This is symbolic as it shows that Macbeth used his own free will to commit the murder. This dagger is just Macbeth’s conscience reassuring him to follow the murder .

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The voices he hears that threaten: “Macbeth shall sleep no more” indicate a relationship between guilt and madness. Therefore, the manifestation of the dagger suggests that he feels guilty because of his attempt to murder Duncan. There are three major transitions of thought. First, he contemplates about the dagger’s existence; the second is the invocations of dark images; finally, there is the bell that cuts off Macbeth’s contemplations. The transitions between topics indicate that while Macbeth feels guilty for the murder, his determination makes him ignore

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Blood splattering all over the room and on Macbeth's hands unable to wash the deed away. This tragic scene occurs in "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare when Macbeth kills Duncan to attain the throne. Throughout this play the three witches predict Macbeth's down fall in various visions and attempt to mess with him for entertainment. Furthermore, in "Macbeth" the witches play a vital role in the destruction of Macbeth's power through visions and manipulation even though appearing in very few scenes. To begin, the three witches tell Macbeth of visions throughout the play that impact his decisions when being king.

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Secondly, as the play progresses, the use of animal symbolism illustrates the decline of Macbeth. In Act I, the Sergeant speaks of Macbeth and Banquo stating that they are: “As sparrows, eagles; or the hair, the lion” (I.ii.35) to their enemies. Specifically, the Sergeant refers to them as an eagle and a lion. Traditionally, these animals are inferred to be noble, strong, proud, and fierce. This shows how Macbeth is first known to have these traits.

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Macbeth would envision a dagger before him asking himself “is (that) a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand”(act.2 scene.i). The dagger was a metaphor for his ambitions and motivation to make himself king with the help of his wife, Lady Macbeth. After King Duncan was killed, Macbeth felt he was evil at that point where he “belief(ed) he (was) to evil to blessed by god”(act.2 scene.ii). The guilt he felt would drive him to the point of madness and brought into question if he was human after that or something that could not be redeemed.

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William Shakespeare uses a total of six motifs in The Tragedy of Macbeth, but three of the six motifs were used significantly. For example; the Natural World, the Blood and the occurrences of supernatural tendencies is presented more than the other three which are; The juxtaposition between Light and Dark, Sleep and Paradox. Shakespeare is known for his poems to contain; life, love, death, revenge, grief, jealousy, murder and mystery. So, therefore, the motifs he presents gives an insight of the style of writing Shakespeare chooses to use. All in which presents a message to the reader.

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