Darkness In Macbeth
Macbeth – This is the play’s protagonist who finds himself as the brave defender of Scotland who manages to valiantly defeat a treacherous general in battle. For his actions, he is rewarded and given a new title, the thane of Cawdor. However, due to a visit from the witches, he becomes dangerously curious and is given a prophecy that he will become king next. He decides to take fate into his own hands, after being motivated to do so by his wife, to murder the current king, Duncan. To further secure his reign on the throne, he has Banquo killed. However, his sanity soon begins to suffer under the guilt of his sins, and he begins to experience visions and sees ghosts. He goes to the witches to hear more about his fate, and their prophecies, falsely
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The exposition is set bright in the day, associating light with King Duncan’s rule and peace. However, Macbeth’s evil deeds typically occur at night. He even pleads with the stars to hide themselves so they will not see his sin. He murders Duncan in the middle of the night, a time of darkness. His final encounter with the witches is also shrouded in darkness. Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking habit also occurs at night, and even she walks with a candle, an image of light she hopes will pierce through the darkness that now engulfs their …show more content…
Macbeth’s actions, and his eventual downfall, are precisely how the witches predict them to occur, despite how impossible they initially seem. It develops the question of if his actions were pre-determined by the witches, or if he advanced his fate along by himself. Would he have become king peacefully had he waited opposed to killing Duncan? His actions force the prophecy to come true, rather than waiting for them to occur by themselves.
Another central idea is that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Macbeth’s taste of power as the thane of Cawdor corrupts him, and the idea that he will eventually become king makes him act immorally in order to reach his desired status. During the time of Shakespeare, kings ruled by the “Divine Rule of Law” which said that God appointed kings and kept them in power. Macbeth defying this sets nature itself out of place and is made right when he
The exposition is set bright in the day, associating light with King Duncan’s rule and peace. However, Macbeth’s evil deeds typically occur at night. He even pleads with the stars to hide themselves so they will not see his sin. He murders Duncan in the middle of the night, a time of darkness. His final encounter with the witches is also shrouded in darkness. Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking habit also occurs at night, and even she walks with a candle, an image of light she hopes will pierce through the darkness that now engulfs their …show more content…
Macbeth’s actions, and his eventual downfall, are precisely how the witches predict them to occur, despite how impossible they initially seem. It develops the question of if his actions were pre-determined by the witches, or if he advanced his fate along by himself. Would he have become king peacefully had he waited opposed to killing Duncan? His actions force the prophecy to come true, rather than waiting for them to occur by themselves.
Another central idea is that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Macbeth’s taste of power as the thane of Cawdor corrupts him, and the idea that he will eventually become king makes him act immorally in order to reach his desired status. During the time of Shakespeare, kings ruled by the “Divine Rule of Law” which said that God appointed kings and kept them in power. Macbeth defying this sets nature itself out of place and is made right when he