Symbolism in the Loss of Light in Macbeth :: essays research papers

Light symbolizes truth, goodness, aw areness, innocence and purity, everything linked to positive attributes. Light can comprise anything Godly and saintly.Darkness is the opposite of light. It symbolizes evil, unawareness, mischief, blindness and treachery.Firstly, both the put to deaths of queen Duncan and Banquo are committed at night, when the sun has set and darkness has fallen.Furthermore, when Lady Macbeth plots the murder of King Duncan she calls the thick night to pall in the dunnest smoke of madhouse to hide her actions. She depends on the darkness to carry out the sinister deed. In addition, before and after the murder, there is much mention of nocturnal animals, for example, how the owls screamd and the crickets cry.Macbeth also tells the stars to hide their fire, which shows a graphic symbol to one of King Duncans lines when he mentions that the signs of nobility are similar stars. Therefore Macbeth wants to hide the light when he does the deed.After the murder of King Duncan, Ross speaks to an old man about it, and of how the dark Night strangles the traveling lamp. He also mentions Nights predominance over the twenty-four hourss shame. He probably thinks that the loss of Duncan equates to loss of everything right(a), since he speaks of strange happenings, like horses eating their own kind. This displays a rural area of chaos and unawareness which is linked to darkness.Towards the end of Act 3 moving picture 2, Macbeth speaks of his plan to kill Banquo, and he then calls the sealing Night (to) masturbate up the tender eye of pitiful day. He also mentions that the Good things of day begin to droop and drowse / Whiles Nights black agents to their preys do rouse, which yet again makes a rootage to nocturnal animals (preys). It also shows darkness taking over light, or in this case, Macbeths evil plot to get rid of the worthy Banquo.