In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the symbolism of the candle to illustrates Lady Macbeth’s brutal fear of darkness and her failed search for redemption. In Act 5, Scene 1 Lady Macbeth enters the room sleep walking and carrying a candle to mitigate the darkness. In the midst of the Doctor’s observations, the Doctor questions the Gentlewoman as to why Lady Macbeth is carrying a candle and the Gentlewoman replies, “Why, it stood by her. She has light by her continually. ‘Tis her command.” (5.1. 24-25) The root of Lady Macbeth’s uneasiness comes from the darkness. Macduff's’ murder and the witches appearances all happened at night time. Earlier in the play, Lady Macbeth said that she wished the stars would stop shining, so the darkness would hide their murder of the
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In Act 5, Scene 1, Lady Macbeth has short, choppy sentences in addition to having trouble with a consistent thought pattern. A doctor and gentlewoman walk into the room to observe Lady Macbeth's strange behavior. It appears she is sleep walking and talking. She is obsessively talking about imaginary blood spots on her hands that won’t come off. She says, “Out, damned spot, out, I say!” (5.1. 37) She then continues to talk about Macduff's’ wife then skips back to talking about her discomfort with her “bloody” hands. Lady Macbeth says, “The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean” (5.1. 44-45) She jumps from idea to idea and in the middle of her sentence, she thinks of something new to talk about. A feeling of anxiety is felt by the reader, which portrays Lady Macbeth’s current mental state. This is ironic because earlier in the play she talks about having a little water take the blood off her hands without a problem. Now, the polar opposite is described showing her paranoia in her character
In Act 5, Scene 1, Lady Macbeth has short, choppy sentences in addition to having trouble with a consistent thought pattern. A doctor and gentlewoman walk into the room to observe Lady Macbeth's strange behavior. It appears she is sleep walking and talking. She is obsessively talking about imaginary blood spots on her hands that won’t come off. She says, “Out, damned spot, out, I say!” (5.1. 37) She then continues to talk about Macduff's’ wife then skips back to talking about her discomfort with her “bloody” hands. Lady Macbeth says, “The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean” (5.1. 44-45) She jumps from idea to idea and in the middle of her sentence, she thinks of something new to talk about. A feeling of anxiety is felt by the reader, which portrays Lady Macbeth’s current mental state. This is ironic because earlier in the play she talks about having a little water take the blood off her hands without a problem. Now, the polar opposite is described showing her paranoia in her character