Macbeth Essay, Research Paper

Macbeth, the story of a Scottish general who receives a prophecy that

he will one day become king, uses many different images to complete the

function that Shakespeare was trying to convey. The function of imagery in

this play expresses ideas, creates character, and adds atmospheric effects.

There is an immeasurable power of evil in one man, and Macbeth fits this line

perfectly. After his murder of Duncan, his tyrannical reign begins and

Macbeth is forced to continue on with more and more murders to protect

himself from suspicion. This killing spree that results propels Macbeth and

his wife to a fate of madness and death.

The first function of imagery is to express ideas throughout the play

and to help bring different points together. Macbeth, who creates an image of

himself as an almighty and all-powerful ruler, discards all moral boundaries in

his quest for power. The effects of Macbeth’s actions show the

overwhelming effects of evil and the power it can have on one man. These

images in Macbeth express the picture of himself. After all the murders are

over, they are worth very little to him in the end. As said by a quote from

Lady Macbeth, “look like the innocence flower, but be the serpent under’t”,

people are not always what they appear to be. This image is a perfect match

for how people see Macbeth. This honest and good king, which was what the

people believed in the beginning, was actually the cause of all the turmoil and

destruction going on in their country. However, Macbeth’s greatest fear in

the play is that he has the image that he has murdered sleep, and by doing this

intensifies the witches incomplete predictions that he is so fearful of bringing

into a reality.

Another main function of imagery in Macbeth is that it creates

character. All of the disturbing situations that Macbeth and his wife go

through throughout the entire work, play a huge role in deciding how their

futures would turn out and what kind of people that they would become. The

other characters in the play also help determine Macbeth’s fate. Lady

Macbeth pushed Macbeth so hard in the beginning to kill Duncan, that after

that, the killing became so trivial and easy to him, that he did not even have to

think about them. Lady Macbeth also manipulates Macbeth by questioning

his manhood. The images she creates, such as wishing she herself was a

man, and agreeing that she could bear only boys, makes Macbeth question his

real character and who is inside himself. These comparisons also help urge

him on and complete his character as a murderer. Even though his own

ambition creates his character as a murderer, the manipulation from other

characters, along with his own fear and guilt really creates the core of

himself.

Fear, horror, and pain are emphasized by the many images of blood

throughout the play. This idea creates an atmospheric effect, which is another

main theme in Macbeth. The feeling shown in this play gets darker and

darker as the play progresses. The climax of the play, when Fleance escapes

from the murderers, is the time when the real fear and anxiety sets in for

Macbeth. From this time forth, he continually sees apparitions and is

paranoid until the time of his destruction. Probably the most horrific scene is

when Macbeth sees his own hands covered in blood, which turns a whole

green ocean blood red. From this time forth, he realizes the consequences

and knows that he has to pay the price. Then when he finds that the witches

prophecies about his destruction come true, it is the end of his tyrannically

rule that he planned and killed so many to achieve.

The main theme in this play, the destruction brought on when ambition

outweighs morals, is shown through the many images in Macbeth. The

function of these images, which are to express ideas, create character, and

add an atmospheric effect, are shown through the trials and horror that

Macbeth goes through. His tribulation is never appeased, and his fear and

guilt continue to grow stronger and stronger as the play progresses. Macbeth

shows that evil can be immeasurable in one man, however his capacity to

hold all of his evil is far less than he can take. As said in Act V, scene 2,

“Macbeth cannot buckle his destemper’d cause within the belt of rule,”

meaning he cannot handle what he has gotten himself into.

Bibliography

Macbeth-The book