The Imagery and Language of Evil in Shakespeare’s Essay Example

what's known as classical allusion, Bellona is the Roman goddess of War, and it shows Macbeth as a bloodthirsty Warrior. The Witches play an important part in this play, and we wonder why Macbeth's first words echo the witches' lines.We know that the play is mainly evil but with the witches we actually see an example of this evil.

When Macbeth is performed on stage, the audience would find it quite striking seeing these three ugly hags appear. The nature and effects of the evil happenings dominate the action of the play. Their symbolic value is that they represent Macbeth's evil ambitions. Banquo sees the witches in scene three and clearly sees them as evil as he calls them: "The instruments of darkness" Banquo is a good Christian and is loyal to his King. Later on in the play Banquo becomes upset and extremely nervous about the meeting with the witches.

In the end is afraid to sleep in case he had bad dreams, at one point he actually draws his sword in Macbeth's castle in fury as he suspects Macbeth of killing Duncan. Banquo is not so ambitious as Macbeth is as he is content with the promise that his descendants will rule Scotland. Macbeth's ambition is more immediate. After act one scene three, no one sees the witches apart from Macbeth; Lennox does not see them when they leave the cavern. Later on in the play the witches finally lead him to his destruction, but are only visions of his own growing arrogance and increasing fury.

In the play they do not guide Macbeth they only represent his own wishes and his own thoughts. The

apparitions in Act IV scene one deserve special comment. The witches' three prophecies are parallel to those three in the beginning of the play. The first apparition: "Beware Macduff Beware the Thane of Fife", The helmeted head represents Macbeth himself and echoes the fears of his mind concerning Macduff. The second: "None of woman born shall harm Macbeth", The bloody child represents this, and of course Macduff was born unnaturally. The third apparition: Macbeth shall never vanquish be, until Great Birnum Wood to Dunsinaine Hill shall come against him", The crowned child bearing a tree represents Malcolm.

In each case Macbeths interpretation is the product of his wish. Had he been less frenzied, less arrogant he might have been warned about the possible double interpretation and would not have been led by overconfidence to his destruction To sum up the prophecies at the beginning of the play led him to success though at the end to his death therefor took events into his own hands.The two main characters of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth slowly descend into evil. The fact the play opens with the sight of ugly hags and a horrific battle gives the audience a glimpse of the theme of the play.

As I have mentioned before Macbeth's first words seem to echo the words of the witches: "So foul and fair day I have not seen" This perhaps suggests a reversal in the weather and fortunes throughout the play. Also the natural order of things has been changed due to the Murder of King Duncan. In those days people believed that a king was to be God's ruler on earth.So far

in the play we know that Macbeth is greatly admired by King Duncan as a brave and noble warrior and he can be brutal in a battle: "Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chaps" But this would acceptable in a battle. Banquo and Macbeth are amazed at the witches and their prophecies. The three prophecies given to Macbeth are: * The thane of Glamis - He already has this title * The thane of Cawdor - Being that the Thane of Cawdor still lives at this point Macbeth finds it strange but he quickly gains that title, as the thane of Cawdor is executed for treason.

Macbeth to become King Immediately Macbeth thinks: "Glamis and Thane of Cawdor the greatest is behind" He thinks then very precisely about the Kingship. Banquo by now can see quite clearly how obsessed Macbeth is and therefore tries to warn him about the witches and how the Witches may try to betray him: "And oftentimes to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betrays in deepest consequence" This means that the witches would lure him in and then betray him.It is obvious by this Banquo thinks of the witches as evil and agents of the devil and they must not be trusted, he calls them the: "Instruments of Darkness" When Malcolm is invested as the "Prince of Cumberland" Macbeth is furious and shows that he has a serious intent in taking King Duncan's place as The King of Scotland. His words show a theme that recurs constantly throughout the play: "The eye wink at the

hand" From now on he must be devious it means that his appearance must not reflect the truth.By now Macbeth must have realised he must be devious and has obviously decided to kill Duncan.

Macbeth's Language reflects his slyness and he wants the blackness of light to hide his evil deeds and evil thoughts: "Stars, hide your fires let not light use my black and deep desires" Macbeth sends a letter to his wife (Lady Macbeth) telling her about the witches and the prophecies. After Lady Macbeth reads this letter she thinks immediately on the same lines as her husband and asks the: "Murdering Ministers" (Spirits of evil) To make her hard and cruel so she can commit the terrible deed.Her plea to become hard and unlady like is directed to hell, and the language is horrific, It reminded me of the scene with the witches casting a spell: "Come, thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell" She asks for her gentle, feminine side to be wiped out: "Take my Milk for Gall" Lady Macbeth is know sounding like one of the witches and therefore warns Macbeth to hide his evil: "Look like the flower but be the serpent under't" After a while Macbeth decides not to go through with the Murder. After all, King Duncan is a good and honourable King.Throughout the play there are many mentions of birds mainly ravens, crows and owls, these are all birds of prey who come out at night.

There is contrast between the words of Banquo about the: "Temple haunting martlet" Who rests at Macbeth's castle because the air is so sweet there

is a lot of irony here, and Macbeth's description of darkness approaching on the on the evening he has planned the murder of Banquo and Fleance: "Light thickens, and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood Good things of the day begin to droop and drowse whiles nights black agents to their preys do rouse"Macbeth sees only dark and evil images now. Now he has Murdered Duncan He has gained no happiness form it and has descended into a pit of evil, he is know so far into evil he cannot get out of it: "I am in Blood stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er" Seeing the evil images of the bloody dagger and Banquo's bloody body shows Macbeth to be immersed in Evil. Lady Macbeth also loses her wits and her husband no longer confides in her.The doctor tells us: "More needs she the divine than the physician" The lady who told Macbeth: A little water clears us of this deed" Finally drowns in her own conscience. In The play "Macbeth" Shakespeare uses quite a lot of pathetic Fallacy.

Pathetic fallacy is when nature seems to reflect what is happening to man. The beginning of Macbeth is on a heath land and the weather is as strange and eerie, as the witches who can vanish at will: "Fair is foul and foul is fair" Macbeth's first words seem to echo the words of the witches: "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" Maybe they influence Macbeth before he as even met them this is the influence of evil.In the

play we learn that the night of Duncan's Murder was unruly and described as: "Cries of deaths were heard in the air, the wind was wild and the earth shook" Also Lady Macbeth states the fact that the owl shrieked all through the night, the night when Macbeth murdered Duncan: "It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman" Strange, but true Lennox also comments on the owl, shrieking through the night. To prove that pathetic fallacy is used in this text, the day after the murder the day stays dark and gloomy as if heaven is troubled with the unnatural act, the Murder of a loyal King.On earth a king is gods appointed ruler. The whole natural world feels disturbed by the night's happenings it seems, as a falcon is killed by a small owl and Duncan's horses turn wild and then try to eat each other.

The day after the murder, once everyone had found out, Malcolm and Donalbain run away, this then is a cause of concern, there was a rumour going round that Malcolm and Donalbain Murdered Duncan then ran away with fear of being caught no doubt Macbeth started this rumour.In Macbeth alongside Pathetic Fallacy Shakespere also uses quite a lot of Classical Allusion. Classical Allusion is reference to characters or events from classical pieces of text of Roman or Greek legends. For example in Act one scene two Shakespeare's uses the term: "Golgotha" This is a Biblical reference. It was a very memorable place, in fact It was the site were Christ was crucified, Ross also comments on Macbeths fighting and how brave he is.

He says that Macbeth

is like: "Bellona's Bridegroom"Belona was the roman goddess of war. This classical Allusion shows Macbeth as a fighting Machine. In the last act, Macbeths opening line contains yet more Classical Allusion, He says: "Why should I play the Roman fool" Roman fool means to commit suicide, Roman lords who had no hope of winning a battle they would often commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner. Macbeth would rather, kill himself in the last Battle with Macduff or otherwise will be locked in a cage and taken around the country, and would be tortured.Now I have come to the end of my essay on Macbeth, it is time to sum up. Macbeth is a dark play and most of the language and imagery of the play reflects this.

Duncan dearly loves Macbeth, but when the witches mention Macbeth becoming King, Macbeth gradually starts to descend into evil and descends from a brave, loyal warrior to a bloodthirsty butcher. Macbeth also has a slight Melodramatic touch to it as Good Triumphs over evil always. Macbeth is a play full of Dark imagery and it shows the consequences of selling your self to the Devil.