Macbeth- Light and Dark Essay Example

“Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it”, (Shakespeare, page 14, Act 1, Scene 5). Shakespeare allows Lady Macbeth to explain Macbeth’s character, although she cannot see the whole truth, she explains a great deal about Macbeth that is true. “Illness” means evil, as one might catch a disease. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a tragedy in which great imagery of light and dark bring real life persona to his characters. The atmosphere of light portrays a life, whereas, the darkness represents the immorality in a character. Macbeth desires to be a king, and in order to become one, he goes against his conscience. He turns his nature of being dark. The night of the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth called on the night to hide his evil doings. Shakespeare emphasized this when he set the mood through a comment made by Banquo. "There's husbandry in heaven, their candles are all out..." (Shakespeare, Act II, Scene 1) The dark night in other words, reflects the dark desires of Macbeth. “Stars, hide your fires: let not see my black and deep desires” Macbeth did not want the light, or his goodness, to see that he wanted to murder King Duncan in order to receive the crown. He did not want to see his bad deed that he has committed. Later on in that same act, Lady Macbeth cried out. She does not want anyone to perceive what she has done and she did not wanted to see it her bad deed that he has committed. The darkness and the evil will cover her deed, and the light.
The darkness of the night, the murders made out a light, being held by Banquo before they murdered him. The light, which Banquo holded, represented the life that the murders have extinguished. The concept of light in Macbeth was predominantly associated with goodness. For example, the day before Macbeth’s final battle, the light of the day is the major factor that foretells the outcome. When discussing the impending battle, Siward says to Macduff, “the