William Shakespeare Symbolic Plays Essay Example

59, Lines 38-40) When she attired those words, it convinced Macbeth to go along with the original plan. But when he becomes king, and all the murders are done with he begins mistrusting people so he tells himself, “To be thus is nothing. But to be safety. ” (Act 3, Scene 1, Page 15, Line 53) As a result, Macbeth frequently talks to the witches and they give him different prophecies that give him the confidence he needs to remain king. The second major symbol in the play is hallucination, which is found numerous times and is shown to be a problem mainly because of the murders.

Macbeth says to himself shortly after killing Duncan “Whence is that knocking? How am not with me when every noise appalls me? What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No this hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine. Making the green one red. ” (Act 2, Scene 2, Page 81, Lines 60- 63) Macbeth had another time where the hallucination caused him to see the ghost of Banquet which he told the ghost “Thou canst not say I did it: never shake thy gory locks at me. (Act 3 Scene 4 Page 143, Lines 63-64) The hallucination of the ghost of Banquet represented the guilt from all the crimes that Macbeth had committed. After that scene Macbeth gradually becomes even crazier than he already was and becomes very reckless with his power. Clearly, he was very emotionally unstable as he continues to commit murders. All the hallucinations are a big factor of

why Macbeth was unsteady and ended up dying. The third and final major symbol of this play is the crystal ball, which represents looking into the future.

I made a choice to make the symbol crystal ball symbolize the prophecies that the witches continuously give Macbeth. Crystal balls typically represent fortune-tellers and the future. That is what started the whole problem and that is the witches and their prophecies for Macbeth. If their prophecies did not take place, Macbeth still would have been Duncan’s loyal general and close friend, but the three witches came to Macbeth and told him, First Witch: “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glacis! ” Second Witch: “All hail, Macbeth!

Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! ” Third Witch “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to the thane of Cawdor! ” That is what caused him to kill the king who thought very highly of him who even gave him the honor of becoming the Thane of Cawdor. Afterwards, when he is knee deep in the murders, he goes back to the witches so that he can attain more prophecies. This time, just to manipulate him, they tell him. First Apparition: “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff. Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough. ” Second Apparition “Macbeth!

Macbeth! Macbeth! Be bloody, bold, and resolute; Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of women born shall harm Macbeth. ” Third Apparition “Be lion-mettled, proud and take no care who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him. ” Through the

witches’ prophecies, Macbeth gained a load of confidence, which lead him to his eventual death. That is why the crystal ball prophecies told is a major symbol in the play.

In the play Macbeth, written by the world renowned writer, William Shakespeare, the symbols tie the story together. Three major symbols that are shown often in the play are the crown, the crystal ball, and the hallucinations. These symbols represent a variety of concepts that can be interpreted to the progress of the play. The crown signifies the division of power occurring throughout the play, the hallucinations symbolize the problems occurring in Macbeth's life, and finally the crystal ball represents the prophecies and the events that will happen in the future.