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The Importance Of Motifs In Shakespeare's Macbeth

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William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a noteworthy tragedy about political ambition that seeks to dramatize the psychological and physiological effects of wanting and achieving too much power for selfish reasons. In order to fulfill the play’s message, Shakespeare uses an abundance of motifs. Motifs are repeated symbols or ideas in a literary work that develops throughout the text in order to display a theme. Throughout the tragedy, clothes and accessories are used to showcase the theme of constant and abrupt change. As in everyday life, clothing is often seen a statement or affirmation of one’s esteem or mood. Clothes are used to reflect the emotions of the owner and as they are combined with others, modeled, strutted, or even simply bought, they speak for the wearer what words simply cannot. Moreover, accessories, in addition to clothing, add or subtract from a person’s wardrobe in order to reflect certain elements of their personality. All in all, clothes and accessories work hand in hand to reveal traits about the wearer. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses clothes to reflect mood and status of characters, reflect change even when change is not necessary, and encourage or humble a character’s personality in regards to both personal and social roles. Clothing combinations, or outfits, reflect the mood of the person wearing it. On a day a person is feeling sad, it is unlikely that they would opt to wear a bright yellow dress, as to call attention to themselves. On a day that a

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