In William Shakespear's Macbeth, symbolism is abundantly used in
exemplifying the overall theme of murder. There are several prominent forms of
this throughout the play. The contrast of light and dark representing good and
evil plays a major role in the advancement of events in the play. Blood
symbolizes murder and guilt. The archetypal pattern of purification by water is
used several times in the play, particularly in the murder scenes. Symbolism is
widely displayed in order to achieve the general topic of evil.
Light and dark represent good and evil in the play. During the time in
which Macbeth was written, the king was associated with the sun. The sunset
symbolized his death or overthrow. The quotes "When shall we three meet again .
. . " and "That will be ere the set of sun." (I. i. 1,4) foreshadow the king's
death. The imagery of light and dark continues throughout the play. "Stars,
hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires." (I. iv. 50-51)
demonstrates Macbeth's step toward evil. Most of the corrupt or unusual events
in Macbeth occur under a cloak of darkness. The murders, Lady Macbeth's
sleepwalking, and the appearance of the witches all take place at night. Lady
Macbeth's sleepwalking scene is the epitome of the light/darkness symbol. She
once craved the darkness but now carries a candle to dispel it. The line, "She<...
The definition of tragedy in the Oxford dictionary is, "drama of elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event, serious accident, calamity." However, the application of this terminology in Shakespearean Tragedy is more expressive. Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity, but in fact, it refers to a series of steps which leads...
Culture of the Renaissance The Renaissance was the beginning of political institutions with a commercial economy and the encouragement of education, arts, and music. It was a period of new inventions and believes. Renaissance actually means "rebirth". It was first used by a French historian Jules Michelet. Swiss historian Jakob Burck...
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, contrast plays a major role. Characters have foils, scenes and ideas contrast each other, sometimes within the same soliloquy. One such contrast occurs in Act Five, Scene One, in the graveyard. Here, the relatively light mood in the first half is offset by the grave and somber mood in the second half. The scene...
Although Brother Leon is an adult and Archie is just a teenager, they both have many common qualities. Archie and Brother Leon are both leaders in there own way. Brother Leon is the leader of a school, and Archie is the head of the Vigils. They are both very mean males. And they both have the power of getting people to do what they want. Jerry...
The fifties was a learning year and the 60's became the time to express everything that they learned. The 60's was a time for new and innovative ways to entertain the people. Since the blacklisting continued in Hollywood, the making or films became very difficult to express. The restrictions, such as the production codes, kept the big corporatio...