Patterns of Images and Imagery in Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

Patterns of Imagery in Macbeth Shakespeare's Macbeth is full of different types of imagery. Many of these images are themes that run throughout the entire play at different times. Five of these images are nature, paradoxes, manhood, masks and light vs. darkness. Nature: "Thunder and lightning." This is the description of the scene before Act I, Scene i, Line 1. The thunder and lightning represent disturbances in nature. Most people do not think of a great day being filled with thunder and lightning. The witches are surrounded by a shroud of thunder and lightning. Also, the first witch asks in Line 2 about the meeting with Macbeth, "In thunder, lightning, or in rain?" The meeting will also be filled with these disturbances. The witches are also surrounded by more unpleasant kinds of weather: "Hover through the fog and filthy air" (Line 11). The weather might personify the witches, meaning that the witches themselves are disturbances, though not limited to nature. The bad weather also might mean that the witches are bad or foul ("filthy air") creatures. In Act II, Scene i, it is a dark night. Fleance says, "The moon is down" (Line 2), and Banquo says, "Their (Heaven's) candles are all out (there are no stars in the sky)." (Line 5) Darkness evokes feelings of evilness, of a disturbance in nature on this fateful night. It creates a perfect scene for the baneful murders. Another disturbance in nature comes from Macbeth's mouth, "Now o'er the one half-world / Nature seems dead" (Lines 49 - 50). This statement might mean that everywhere he looks, the world seems dead (there is no hope). It might also give him the idea that the murder he is about to commit will have repercussions spreading far. The doctor says in Act V, Scene i, Line 10, "A great perturbation in nature," while talking about Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking. This is just another example of how nature is disturbed by human doings, placing emphases on mankind (following the Humanistic philosophy). The Paradox: The witches' chorus on Act I, Scene i, Line 10: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair," is a paradox. It is also a prophecy, where one thing seems like another (the characters of the play), or about how things will change through the story (again the characters). Being so early in the play, it is a good "grabber" for the reader. Since it isn't a simple statement, it makes the reader think about the line to find some meaning for themselves. It is easier to grasp a meaning of this line further along in the book.