Grey Jones
Myths and Legends Mr Sanchez
November, 28, 2016 The Power of Night In Macbeth
11% of people are afraid of the dark. The dark is terrifying because one does not know what could happen in those conditions. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth hints to how people transform when the light turns to dark. Night is a major theme in Macbeth because all of the major deaths in the play happen then. Macbeth is a completely different person when the sun goes to hide from the evil of darkness. When Ross and the Old Man are talking about the killing of Duncan, Ross says to The Old man, “By the clock tis day, and yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp/ Is't night’s predominance or the day’s shame /That darkness does the face …show more content…
However, the darkness provides a false sense of security for Macbeth's murders, because Ross and the Old Man see all the evil within the dark. Eventually this comes back to haunt Macbeth when he dies by the sword of people who saw through the night and his attempts to hide his murders. When Lady Macbeth is trying to convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan while he is staying at their house, She says,“And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry hold hold” (Shakespeare, 1.5, 58-61). Lady Macbeth relays to Macbeth, her husband, that Heaven will not be able to see the deeds he has done, because the Heavens are powerless at night. She also mentions that he will be free from the moral repercussions of the acts he has committed for the same reason. Lady Macbeth’s prior line states, “Is't night’s predominance or the day’s shame” (Shakespeare, 2.4, 7-12) This line mentions the power of night over day and Lady Macbeth’s power over Macbeth. Macbeth started out as a character of light, but was transformed by Lady Macbeth’s evilness. Lady Macbeth says, “ nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry hold hold”(Shakespeare, 2.4, 7-12). This demonstrates the consequences of night’s dominance over the light- Heaven cannot hold one morally responsible for what happens at night. This relates to how heaven will never see what Macbeth has done; Macbeth will never be held responsible However, Lady Macbeth is wrong and people end up seeing through Macbeth’s veil of darkness and Macbeth is caught and
Myths and Legends Mr Sanchez
November, 28, 2016 The Power of Night In Macbeth
11% of people are afraid of the dark. The dark is terrifying because one does not know what could happen in those conditions. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth hints to how people transform when the light turns to dark. Night is a major theme in Macbeth because all of the major deaths in the play happen then. Macbeth is a completely different person when the sun goes to hide from the evil of darkness. When Ross and the Old Man are talking about the killing of Duncan, Ross says to The Old man, “By the clock tis day, and yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp/ Is't night’s predominance or the day’s shame /That darkness does the face …show more content…
However, the darkness provides a false sense of security for Macbeth's murders, because Ross and the Old Man see all the evil within the dark. Eventually this comes back to haunt Macbeth when he dies by the sword of people who saw through the night and his attempts to hide his murders. When Lady Macbeth is trying to convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan while he is staying at their house, She says,“And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry hold hold” (Shakespeare, 1.5, 58-61). Lady Macbeth relays to Macbeth, her husband, that Heaven will not be able to see the deeds he has done, because the Heavens are powerless at night. She also mentions that he will be free from the moral repercussions of the acts he has committed for the same reason. Lady Macbeth’s prior line states, “Is't night’s predominance or the day’s shame” (Shakespeare, 2.4, 7-12) This line mentions the power of night over day and Lady Macbeth’s power over Macbeth. Macbeth started out as a character of light, but was transformed by Lady Macbeth’s evilness. Lady Macbeth says, “ nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry hold hold”(Shakespeare, 2.4, 7-12). This demonstrates the consequences of night’s dominance over the light- Heaven cannot hold one morally responsible for what happens at night. This relates to how heaven will never see what Macbeth has done; Macbeth will never be held responsible However, Lady Macbeth is wrong and people end up seeing through Macbeth’s veil of darkness and Macbeth is caught and