Symbolism în Macbeth

A play about revenge and meditation upon death, lust for power and evil,

Macbeth encompasses various types of symbols , which points out William Shakespeare’s extraordinary creativity and vision The study of imagery and symbols in Macbeth , plays an essential role in understanding the tragedy’s most important themes : fortune , fate , the fall of man , the corrupting power ,kingship ,tyranny ,the natural order In the following paragraphs , I shall focus on the analysis of Macbeth symbolism ( blood ,water ,ghosts ,witches, dark vs. light ,raven ,seed-tree ,baby-child , king ), taking into account the way in which each of these symbols contributes to the theme building

First of all ,the play focuses on the weird witches’ apparition ,which symbolizes evil forces ,prophecy and damnation The three witches start the prologue scene foreshadowing what will happen “When the hurlyburly’s done/ When the battle lost and won/That will be ere the set of sun ”(Macbeth,p 6)and “Fair is foul and foul is fair “(Macbeth ,p.7 ).These lines point out their prophetic power and malicious intentions and allude to the idea that nothing is quite what it seems They seem to bring hurlyburly atmosphere,that is to break the rules of the natural order and to produce chaos Therefore ,their role is to tempt Macbeth to commit evil and atrocious acts ,as can be further seen in the play :”Thou shalt get kings ,though be none: So all hail , Macbeth and Banquo! ”.Through these uttered words ,the witches appear to symbolize temptation as they tempt and torment Macbeth to challenge his faith in himself and society Just like an evil force , they appeal to Macbeth’ s desire to control his own future to direct it to desirable ends They act as an impulse toward wakening Macbeth’s latent evil nature and lust for power They appeal to what Macbeth wants to believe ,the possibility of becoming a king

The above foreshadowed image of king and kingship becomes further a symbol of the play The play is set in a society in which the notion of honor to one’s word is very important and the King is seen as God’s representative on Earh 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 king is seen as an embodiment of order and justice, as a sun “the sun has set “(Macbeth. p.29).Therefore Duncan’s murder is supposed to to bring chaos, torment the natural order and the mentally disturb the murderers ,namely Macbeth and his wife lady Macbeth.Only when the king’s murder is avenged towards the end, and Macbeth himself dies ,the order is established.

Another important symbol that appears in the play ,as part of the play’s action is the symbol of nature At first ,it appears in the form of the witches as a symbol of the evil forces ,an agent of evil and illness The nature in Macbeth is certainly not a healing factor but a destructive one Its hurlyburly atmosphere ,the lightning and thunders show that the nature is under control and has to be restored.The storm and the darkness point out Macbeth’s corrupted mind