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Use Of Light And Darkness In Macbeth

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How does William Shakespeare contrast light and darkness to create central ideas in Macbeth?

Lightness and darkness are used to convey the key ideas of good and evil in a number of themes. Unnatural events in nature were accompanied by darkness often following evil deeds, where light has been overcome. Night is used to hide the shame and silence the good and light conscience to allow them to pursue their wicked thoughts. Darkness eventually consumes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they become too guilty to live with what they have done leading to their eventual downfall, and goods return to power.
Unnatural events that occur often were related to the concept of light and dark. After Macbeth kills Duncan he disrupts the order of nature, causing nature to become unpredictable as a falcon is killed by a hawk, and the sun does not rise. …show more content…

Lady Macbeth calls “Come thick night” (1.5.53) to gain the strength and courage to commit the horrible crime. She does not want others to know her evil plans, nor her own conscience to prevent her from doing so. Macbeth hides his true desires by asking, “Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desire: The eye wink at the hand; yet that be which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. (1.4.50-53) This displays Macbeth becoming consumed by evil as he begins to listen to his “black and deep desire”, forcing to ignore his conscience which knows committing the crime is wrong. The night is used as a cover for their evil activities as, “good things of day begin to troop and drowse, whiles night’s black agents to their preys do rouse.” (3.2.57-58). Evil hunts for its victims and commits its crimes in the secrecy of the day, while the good and pure things of the day sleep. Their actions are hidden in the darkness of the night, facilitating their capabilities to commit these horrendous

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With the context of the rest of the scene, Macbeth is noticing what time it is, near dusk when the day is shifting into night, when diurnal animals, animals that are usually active during the day, which includes humans, are going into sleep and nocturnal animals, which are active during the night, are waking up to start their hunting. Here, there are clear distinctions between how Macbeth views the night versus the day. The “good things of day” that Macbeth mentions are the gentleness, politeness and order that exist in the day. Under the light of the sun, people are often their best selves, as there is nothing to hide under. People, like Macbeth, put on gentle and kind façades in order to keep others from suspecting them of harm or in order to blend into a society that is based on mannerisms and order.

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When Lady Macbeth uses the word “night”, it was always associated with the subject of murder. Also, when other characters in the play used the word, it was used to show sorrow or grief for the deaths that occurred or used for its literal sense. Macbeth was reluctant to kill Duncan because it was immoral

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“Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires” (Shakespeare I. iiii. 52-54). Macbeth says this right before he kills King Duncan. Macbeth asks for darkness, which represents evil, because he knows what he is about to do is morally wrong.

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To what I ask you” (IV.1.48-64). Here Macbeth uses symbolism through his description of the witches as "secret, black, and midnight hags," Symbolism is used to not only portray their mysterious and supernatural nature but also to highlight the corrupting influence of ambition on his character. By describing the witches as "midnight hags," Macbeth suggests that his ambition is heavily influenced by the supernatural forces at play, pushing him further into making immoral decision and leading him away from his noble, moral origins. Just as darkness blinds one’s vision, Macbeth’s ambition blinds him to the moral and ethical boundaries he had once respected. As the play progresses, Macbeth slowly becomes willing to engage in more treacherous acts, including murder and

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Macbeth is a dark play written by Shakespeare. It is about a kingdom in Scotland in which the people living there turn on each other and don't know who to trust. Macbeth changes from an innocent man to a murderous villain. In the end, his cockiness will get the best of him. Throughout the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to convey the theme, “guilt cannot be washed away.”

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This signifies that by the witches telling Macbeth his prophecy in their meeting, and Macbeth therefore killing Duncan, the human world and the natural world were linked to his guilt. They were now associated through the darkness seen in nature, or the witches magical involvement. Some examples of nature revolting due to the unanticipated power shift is that after King Duncan is murdered, nature outside of the castle specifically begins to act “unnatural”. The sky is dark in the middle of the day which represents the way the king's life has been darkened, he has died, and his power taken by Macbeth in a dark manner, murder. When Macbeth’s mind is unnaturally altered because of the witches prophecy, it causes a disruption to the order of all those involved.

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