Imagery In Macbeth Essay, Research Paper

William Shakespeare used imagery may times in the play Macbeth. Clothing, darkness, animals, and blood are four major sources of Imagery. Clothing is meant to show what a person has earned, darkness is meant to symbolize evil, animals show what is natural and blood stands for wounds, or death.

William Shakespear used imagery many times in the play Macbeth. Clothing, darkness and blood are four major sources of Imagery. Clothing is meant to show what a person has earned,darkenss is meant to symbolize evil, animals show what is natural and blood stands for death.

Clothing is used to suggest that throughout the play, Macbeth is trying to hide his “disgraceful self” from everyone, including himself. He is wanting to hide how he really is(a bad guy) and make people see him as a good guy. Macbeth considers his clothing honors, because being Thane of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis, are both very prestigious titles. He is wearing an “undeserved dignity.” It is undeserved, because Macbeth did not earn the titles, they were both given to him. Macbeth is uncomfortable in them because he is always aware of the fact that they do not belong to him. “New honours come upon him,

Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould, But with the aid of use.” (Act 1,scene 3, line 144) Those lines symbolize how Macbeth knew he did not deserve the titles, and the clothing that went along with that title, because he knew he didn t earn the titles and wasn t honorable enough to wear the clothing he was given.

Darkness is another source of Imagery. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the

witches, the guilt in Macbeth’s soul, and the darkness of the night to set the mood. The scenes that are most notable take place at night or in some kind of dark spot. Such as the vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, the murder of Banquo, and Lady Macbeth’s sleep-walking, when Banquo rides home to meet his killers, the owl screaming and the Falcon being killed by the owl, which all happen at night, when it is dark. The darkness symbolizes many things. First, it stands for the death and evil in the play. The darkness is supposed to show how all of the horrible things that occur in the night could be blocked out. They thought that if they did it at night, no one would see or pay that much attention, so they would not feel as much guilt about the murders. It also shows how Lady Macbeth is afraid of the dark, she thinks that darkness is the place of torment.In the whole drama, the sun seems to shine only twice. It shines first in the lines when Duncan sees the swallows flirting round the castle of death. Then, it shines at the end when the avenging army gathers to rid the earth of its shame. Darkness, is used to establish the evil parts of the play, and sunshine is used to establish victory or goodness in it.

“It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, which gives the stern’st good-night.” In Act 2, scene 2, The step that Macbeth is taking goes against the rules of nature, and when this happens, animals and weather erupt. The owl is a bellman because, according to superstition, an owl hooting foretells death. He is fatal, because he death and horror. So,when the owls screamed and the crickets cried, it symbolized evil and ominous doings. In Act 2, scene 4, Ross and an old man are talking about the night before and how many unnatural things happened. The bird of darkness, the owl, screeched all night. “A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place, was by a mousing owl, whose normal prey is a mouse. The night has become more powerful than the day or else the day is hiding its face in shame”. Duncan s horses, went crazy and broke their stalls, and were said to have eaten each other. “The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.” In Act I, scene 5, Macbeth has already thought about the assassination. The raven, like the owl is a symbol of death. The raven represents Duncan’s doom. An

atmosphere of death is symbolized by the behavior of the animals that night. The animals are all going crazy and doing things that are not natural, just like Macbeth is doing. Macbeth killing people isn t natural.

The last type of imagery is blood, it is very important in ‘Macbeth’. It symbolizes honor and bravery and also deceit and evil. In the beginning blood stands for honor and bravery and symbolizes good and victory. The blood on Macbeth’s sword after the war shows him to be a hero because he killed his enemy. The blood at the beginning of the play earns Macbeth respect and a title. Macbeth is feeling very guilty about the murder of Duncan and Banquo. ” With all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas in carnadine, making the green one red” shows that he feels great guilt. What Macbeth means is that with all of the water in the ocean could not wash his hands clean from what he has just done. If he where to try and wash his hands in the ocean it would turn it red because there is so much blood on his hands. Blood represents a lot of guilt for Lady Macbeth, too, especially near the end of the play. Lady Macbeth is the one who tries to keep Macbeth’s hopes up and keep him from breaking down. She acts okay until the end, when she sleep walks and constantly washes her hands, she says, “What, will these hands never be clean here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten this little hand”. Again, showing the imagery of blood used as guilt. The imagery of blood is used in two different ways. One of good and the other of evil. In the beginning of the play blood is shown as honor and bravery and at the end it is shown as guilt and bad.