Macbeth Murders Duncan example essay topic

The tragedy of Macbeth is filled with ironic and symbolic elements. Throughout the play Shakespeare uses a variety of clauses to symbolize both good and evil. The four major images he uses are light and darkness, the number three, birds, and blood. The contrast of light and darkness is shown throughout the play. The light symbolizes life and happiness, while the darkness symbolizes evil and death.

Before Macbeth murders Duncan there is a great deal of light shown in the play. After the murder the light turns into darkness, not only the darkness of death, however but also the darkness of evil. The murder has forced Macbeth to suffer from insomnia. After the murder he states exclaims, Sleep no more!

/Macbeth does murder sleep... Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore / Claw dor / Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more (II, ii, 46-47, 54-57) He cannot shake the memories and guilt he feels about murdering Duncan. Lady Macbeth also suffers from the darkness. At first she is not affected by the murder; however in the end she is the person who suffers the most. In the final days of her life, Lady Macbeth start to sleep walk.

She is unable to hide from the deep horrors of the darkness and her fear of discovery. She is afraid of the dark and uses the light to try to hide from the demons of the night, in an attempt to rid of her demons. In Act V, the doctor and the gentlewoman watch Lady Macbeth walk into the light from the darkness of sleeping: Doctor: How came she by that light". Gentlewoman:" Why, it stood by her. She has light by her continually. 'Tis her command" (V, i, 23-25).

Here Lady Macbeth commands that she has light by her at all times, to help escape from the darkness. The contrast o light and dark is portrayed so drastically to show that the deeds of darkness, the murder, overshadow the light. The number three is used throughout the play as a symbol of evil. The number itself traditionally is considered to be unlucky. The first time the number appears is in the fourth scene of the play with the three witches, or weird sisters. First witch: Thrice the branded cat that mewed".

Second witch: Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whined". First witch: Days and nights has thirty-one" (IV, i, 1, 2, 7). Another example is the three apparitions give to Macbeth at his second visit with the witches. Macbeth's name is called three time before called before they, the witches speak. First Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis.

Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Candor! Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! (I, , 51-53) The word three is shown in other context as well. The Porter in Act II seems to be providing some comic relief for the audience, but it goes deeper than that. He explains to the audience that the number three and drinking does not make for a good mix.

He shows that the two play a major role in the play. Porter:" ... and drink, sir, is a great provoker of three things" (II, , 25-26). Here he may be referring to the three fatal apparition that the three witches are to eventually tell Macbeth about. Birds also are mentioned in the play to symbolize both good and evil, often paralleling the light and darkness theme. The market and wren are used to symbolize goodness, while the raven and owl are used to symbolize evil. The raven, is used to tell of the messenger that informs Lady Macbeth that King Duncan is coming.

Lady Macbeth exclaims, The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan". Not only is the raven's voice is traditionally thought to be a call of death, but is also a symbol of death itself along with evil and darkness. The owl, also shown as a symbol of darkness and evil, is used throughout the play. The owl is a bird of the night and appears many times as an omen of death and evil. Once again Lady Macbeth exclaims: It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, /Which gives the stern " st good-nite" (II, 2, 5-6). Again in Act II, in Old Mans conversation with Ross, he states, A falcon, to wring in her pride of place, /Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.

(II, iv, 15-16) This statement by the Old Man suggests that the night bird, the bird of evil and darkness, has finally struck, with the murder of Duncan. Then in Act IV, the owl comes back to haunt again, this time to prey on Lady Macduff: The most diminutive of birds will fight, /Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. Lennox talks of an obscure bird that Clamored the livelong night (II, , 67-68). One might conclude that this obscure bird that he speaks of is the owl. Shakespeare uses blood to symbolize many events, ranging from honor for a victory well won to guilt from malicious murder of a great king.

The first reference to blood we find in the play portray "blood" as good and honorable. King Duncan pronounces "What bloody man is that" (I, i, 1) regarding an obviously bloody soldier after he has fought a long gurgling battle to protect Malcolm. The blood here symbolizes goodness and honor. A few lines further, blood is again shown as a symbol of honor. The Captain, refering to Macbeth, rejoices with the victory of their battle and says", Disdaining Fortune, with brandished steel, /Which smoked with bloody execution". (I, ii, 19-20) These are a few rare occurrences in the play that portray "blood" as good and honorable.

From this point on the references to blood are used to symbolize evil, rather than goodness and honor. The scene is that of the murder of King Duncan. After Macbeth murders Duncan, he returns to his room where the king's blood has saturated Macbeth's hands. Lady Macbeth tells her husband to go and frame the sleeping guards for the deed, "Go, carry them and smear / The sleepy grooms with blood".

(II, ii, 63-64) Macbeth does so and he also tries to wash his hands with water to clear his name of the deed, as his wife had instructed him to do, but is unable to rid his conscience of the guilt; Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine... (II, ii, 78-80) This time the "blood" symbolizes the evil deed of murdering King Duncan. Blood again, as evil, appears in Act V. Here Lady Macbeth is suffering from the guilt of the murder, she says "Out, damned spot, out, I say! ... Yet who would have thought the old man / to have had so much blood in him... Here's the smell of the blood still.

All / the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little / hand. O, O, O!" (V, i, 37, 41-42, 53-55) The guilt of the evil murder has gotten the best of Lady Macbeth and has caused her to have demons. The guilt seemed to have overtaken Macbeth at first, however he was able to rid of the feeling. Lady Macbeth on the other hand seemed to not to be shaken by the murder at first, but in the end, the massive guilt caused the death of her. Shakespeare uses a variety of symbolism to better describe the situations that occur throughout the tragedy.

Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffer from the evil and darkness that is illustrated in the play, through the use of symbolism.