Light And Darkness In Macbeth By William Shakespeare
“By th' clock ’tis day,/ And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp./ Is't night’s predominance or the day’s shame/ That darkness does the face of Earth entomb/ When living light should kiss it?”(2.4.73) In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, the dominant presence of darkness overpowers the light. In other words, evilness is becoming stronger and takes over the good. This can mean many things, for instance the bad in people is overpowering them and is leading them to make bad decisions. The book consist of people putting up a facade. Shakespeare intended for the motif of light and darkness to reveal life and death of the characters.
The motifs of lightness and darkness foreshadow life and death, which combined, embody one's existence on earth. Shakespeare uses both artificial and natural light to convey life. For instance, as lady Macbeth slowly goes crazy, the nurse tells the doctor “Why, it stood by her. She has light by her/ continually. 'Tis her
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In the book, Lady Macbeth tries to ask the sky to help her out in acting on the darkest of the deeds. For example, Lady Macbeth says, “You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night,/ And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,/ That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,/ Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark/ To cry “Hold, hold!”(1.5.33) Lady Macbeth asks that the sky look away and distract itself while the deed is done because she cannot risk the sky stopping her and Macbeth from their plan. Macbeth fears the truth that Banquo bears and feels the need to eliminate any possible threat. “Come, seeling night,/ Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day/ And with thy bloody and invisible hand/ Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond/ Which keeps me pale.” (3.2.95) Macbeth also asks that the sky help him terminate the threat so that Macbeth can live in peace once more. This indicates that the death of Banquo is
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