Patterns of Images and Imagery in Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

Patterns of Imagery in Macbeth          Shakespeares Macbeth is full of opposite types of imagery.  Manyof these images are themes that run throughout the entire play at differenttimes.  Five of these images are nature, paradoxes, manhood, masks andlight vs. darkness. Nature         Thunder and lightning.  This is the description of the scenebefore Act I, opinion i, Line 1.  The thunder and lightning representdisturbances in nature.  most(prenominal) people do not think of a great day beingfilled with thunder and lightning.  The witches are surrounded by a underwriteof thunder and lightning.  Also, the first witch asks in Line 2 about themeeting with Macbeth, In thunder, lightning, or in rain?  The meetingwill similarly be filled with these disturbances.  The witches are toosurrounded by more unpleasant kinds of endure  Hover through the fog andfilthy air (Line 11).   The weather might personify the witches, meaningthat the witches themselves are disturbances, though not limited to nature.The bad weather also might mean that the witches are bad or foul (filthyair) creatures.         In Act II, Scene i, it is a dark night. Fleance says, The moon isdown (Line 2), and Banquo says, Their (Heavens) candles are all out(there are no stars in the sky). (Line 5)  Darkness evokes feelings ofevilness, of a disturbance in nature on this fateful night.  It creates aperfect scene for the baneful murders.         Another disturbance in nature comes from Macbeths mouth, Now oerthe one half-world / Nature seems dead (Lines 49 - 50).  This statementmight mean that everywhere he looks, the world seems dead (there is nohope).  It might also give him the idea that the murder he is about tocommit will have repercussions spreading far.  The doctor says in Act V,Scene i, Line 10, A great perturbation in nature, while talking aboutLady Macbeths sleepwalking.  This is just another example of how nature isdisturbed by human doings, placing emphases on mankind (following theHumanistic philosophy). The Paradox         The witches chorus on Act I, Scene i, Line 10 Fair is foul, andfoul is fair, is a paradox.  It is also a prophecy, where one thing seemslike another (the characters of the play), or about how things will changethrough the story (again the characters).  Being so early in the play, itis a good grabber for the reader.  Since it isnt a simple statement, itmakes the reader think about the railway system to find some meaning for themselves.It is easier to grasp a meaning of this line further along in the book.