Topic > The basic elements of ambition and evil in the story of Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Ambition and evil are the basic elements of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Macbeth is a tragedy written by Shakespeare in the Elizabethan era. Much use was made of Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland as they were necessary to create the settings and situations of the play. Macbeth is set primarily in Scotland and is a play about an ambitious thane, named Macbeth, and his wife whose faults lead to their deaths. Since Macbeth is a tragedy, probably nothing else would be more suitable for the show than dark images. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Imagery is a very important aspect of literature. There are many different types of images, and there is at least one dramatic purpose for each image. When analyzing William Shakespeare's Macbeth, it is evident that images of darkness are used for three dramatic purposes. These three purposes are to create atmosphere, arouse the audience's emotions and contribute to the main theme of the show. Macbeth's dark imagery adds to its menacing atmosphere. At the beginning of the play the three witches are talking and the first witch says: "When will we meet again? With thunder, lightning or rain?" This is a good example of imagery of darkness because when you think of thunder, lightning, and rain crashing, thoughts of disturbing things come to light. Later, the sergeant is talking to Duncan and Malcolm when he states, "Destructive storms and terrible thunders are unleashed." Once again these dark images contribute to the ominous atmosphere of the work, referencing thunder and dark storms. Finally, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are talking in the scene just before Banquo's murder and Macbeth says, "The light thickens, and the raven gives wings to the crow-wood: the good things of the day begin to droop and slumber, while the black agents of the night to fly." their prey awakens." This example of darkness imagery says that the day is turning into night, all good things will go to sleep, and evil creatures will come out. The evil in this previous quote and the previous two are added to the eerie atmosphere. Since images create an eerie atmosphere, they would lead to the second dramatic purpose, to arouse the emotions of the audience. Images of darkness are a great tool to arouse the emotions of the audience mental of what they are reading. For example, Duncan and Macbeth were talking when Macbeth says aside: “Stars, hide your fires! Don't let the light see my deep black desires." When words like "black" and "desire" are put into that context it creates many horrific mental images about murder and fighting that stir people's emotions. Ross later speaks with an old man when he states "According to the clock it is day, yet the dark night strangles the traveling lamp. In other words; even if, there should be the sun, something blocks the light disturbing feeling in the reader because it is very abnormal that the sun is blocked. To help this example of imagery, the sun can also symbolize a monarch or a king. Another case of darkness imagery occurs when Lady Macbeth and a messenger are talking and Lady Macbeth states, "Let not my sharp knife see the wound it makes, nor the sky peep through the blanket of darkness to cry, 'Here, hold!'" It creates a feeling of dread in the reader because of something which is unknown. With the night covering the earth..