Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Imagery in Macbeth Imagery in Macbeth Shakespeare's powerful imagery has never been more apparent than in Macbeth. He begins the play with a startling image of three witches chanting in a furious thunderstorm, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air" (1.1.10-11). The eerie chanting creates a dark, mysterious tone that leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable and expecting odd and evil things to happen. Later, when Macbeth and Banquo come across the three weird sisters, the underlying evil creeps back up when Macbeth says, "So foul and fair a day I have not seen," and Banquo comments, "What are these So withered, and so wild in their attire, That look not like the inhabitants o' th' earth" (1.3.38-41). Again the tone is one of dark uncertainty. The reader is forced to pay close attention through the connotations of pure evil, and Shakespeare uses the opportunity to relay early in the play Macbeth's motivation and other important information that will determine the character's fate. The act ends by introducing the evil incarnate character Lady Macbeth, whose ambition is communicated in her soliloquy, "...unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty!" (1.5.41- 43). Her plan to make her husband king brings the evil, dark, cold tone full circle for the desired effect of intriguing the reader and kicking the play into high gear. The tone's effectiveness can be felt in the reader's desire to proceed deeper into the evil thoughts and Act II begins the recurring image of Macbeth's struggle with his decision. His soliloquy in which he says, "Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee...A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?" (2.1.33-34,38-39). He clearly is not comfortable and the tone is somber and depressing. Lady Macbeth does not seem to share her husband's anxiety, but it continues to show when he says, "How is't with me that every noise appalls me?...Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine" (2.3.57,59-61). The image of him on his knees agonizing over his actions strikes hard and clear and the tone is one of remorse and a wishing for a chance to change the past. The act ends with a feeling of uneasiness as Malcolm and Donalbain leave the country, and Ross and Macduff converse about the old king's death and the crowning of Macbeth. Macduff says, "Well, may you see things well done there. Adieu, Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!" (2.4.37-38). The image of concern for the future and the implied uneasiness hints that not all is well in The somber, remorseful, and uneasy tones are effective in sending the reader on an emotional roller coaster with the characters and changing the reader's feelings from about each character based on how they respond to the tone. For instance, Lady Macbeth becomes the most hated person in the play due to her complete insensitivity and all around disregard for human life. She stands out against a background of subjects mourning their king. Act III resorts to the images of evil and insanity of Macbeth. The act begins with the murder of his best friend, which is a good indication of his state of mind. He is constantly in fear, and it shows with, "Ours fears in Banquo stick deep, And in his royalty of nature reigns that Which would be feared...There is none but he Whose being do I fear" (3.1.49-51,54-55). The image created is Macbeth trembling, plotting in his castle as to how he can protect himself. The tone is urgent and calls for immediate action. Also the feeling of a conspiracy develops, which in fact does happen. The most powerful image is of Macbeth at a dinner gathering when the ghost of the murdered Banquo appears in his seat. He speaks strong words into thin air, "Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me" (3.4.50-51). The shocking image breaks through the building tension as Macbeth cannot hold in his secrets much longer. The tone has become a bit confused as was the room in which the events took place. The act ends with a return to the dark, mysterious, evil tones of the witches and their leader. The witch scene signals the beginning of the downfall, and the tone becomes more hopeless towards Macbeth and the reader senses that he won't be suffering much longer. This dark tone ends the act with Lennox saying, "May soon return to this our suffering country...". The tension still stimulates interest in the conclusion of the foreseeable tragedy. Throughout the act and the play, Shakespeare continually emphasizes the ever-present evil through images of fear and inner struggle and keeps the tone quite morose with few breaks for pleasure and relaxation. All the aspects of the tone provide almost a character sketch of Macbeth and epitomizes the attitude which he takes toward his life and goals. Bibliography: N/A Word Count: 857
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