Purposes of Images and Imagery in Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Purposes of Imagery in Macbeth The Shakespearean tragic turn Macbeth uses imagery to stisfy various needs in the look. This strain will pullulate the above premise, including exemplification and literary critical thought. In The Riverside Shakespeare frank Kermode enlightens regarding the imagery of swarthiness in the escape Macbeth is the last of the four salient tragedies, and perhaps the darkest. Bradley began his study by pointing out that almost all the scenes which at once recur to the memory take place either at night or in some dark spot. That peculiar compression, pregnancy, energy, change surface violence, which distinguishes the verse is a further contri furtherion to the plays preoccupation with the fears and tensions of darkness. (1307) Lily B. Campbell in her mass of criticism, Shakespeares Tragic Heroes Slaves of Passion, describes how the imagery contributes to the atmosphere of the play Macbeth is, however, not only a study of fear it is a study in fe ar. The sounds and images in the play combine to give the atmosphere of terror and fear. The incantation of the witches, the bell that tolls man Duncan dies, the cries of Duncan, the cries of the women as Lady Macbeth dies, the owl, the knocking at the gate, the wild horses that ate to each one other, the story, the quaking of the earth - all of these are the habitual accompaniments of the willfully fearful in literature. (238-39) A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy comments on the dark imagery of the play The vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, the murder of Banquo, the sleep-walking of Lady Macbeth, all come in night scenes. The Witches dance in the thick air of a invade or, black and midnight hags, receive Macbeth in a cavern. The blackness of night is to the hero a thing of fear, even of horror and that which he feels becomes the spirit of the play. (307) L.C. Knights in the essay Macbeth explains the supporting role which imagery plays in Macbeths descent into d arkness To get a line to the witches, it is suggested, is like eating the insane root, That takes the reason prisoner (I.iii.84-5) for Macbeth, in the effect of temptation, function, or intellectual activity, is smotherd in surmise and everywhere the imagery of darkness suggests not only the absence or withdrawal of light but - light thickens - the presence of something positively oppressive and impeding.