spaceisland Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Does anybody have any good ideas about one repetitive element of imagery in Macbeth to focus on in a commentary? I was thinking of focusing on disillusions, but I don't know if that actually classifies as imagery, or if it will be concrete enough... =/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceisland Posted October 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 (edited) Hi... I've decided to focus on the theme of equivocation, and Shakespeare's imagery regarding "foul and fair" and darkness. I'd planned on writing about how the darkness is found in evil, and how it the lack of light masks immorality. I've started my essay and outline, but I'm now wondering if my chosen themes and imagery are related enough, and I'm experiencing a bit of confusion about how the foul and fair comes alive in imagery.Any thoughts? Advice?Sorry.. This is my first real commentary, and I'm a bit confused. Edited October 13, 2007 by spaceisland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruan Chun Xian Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Well you could consider: - The witches. They meet in darkness, in thunder, lightning and rain. Can they be considered evil? Consider their conversation of their second meeting about the sailor and his wife. Are they considered evil in Shakespeare's time? - So foul and fair a day I've ever seen - what Banquo said. It's a foul day because of the weather but a fair day because they've won the battle. However, it's also foul because they're going to meet the witches in a moment who gives Macbeth the whole prophecy- All the crimes happen in darkness- All the guilt comes to root in darkness/night - ghost scene, sleepwalking scene- Another point, people often say that the Macbeth tragedy happened because of the witches giving Macbeth the prophecy, thus fulfilling it. Then this whole tragedy - it's foul for Macbeth but perhaps achieve exactly what the witches want - thus it's "fair" for them. (Not fair as in just, fair as in good). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceisland Posted October 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Thanks. =D I wound up changing my mind once again in the past few hours, and I'm thinking it's working good now. I decided to change from the theme of equivocation to one that seemed more concrete to me: "the corruption of man and contagiousness of evil", and how it transformed Macbeth, and about how images of darkness help to advance the aforementioned... I was having a hard time find a theme and element of imagery that worked together, but hopefully this will work. I'm about 750 words in now, so fingers crossed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ongfufu Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Symbols is a huge topic, such as blood, and the weather. Blood symbolizes the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on the consciences of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, one that hounds them to their graves. From the thunder and lightning that accompany the witches’ appearances to the terrible storms that rage on the night of Duncan’s murder, these violations of the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and political orders. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
master135 Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I did Macbeth in grade 9 (pre-ib)..so dont remember too much. But i remember doing an assignment on imagery and i know there is a substantial amount you can do with fair/foul, dark/light, blood, and animal/weather imagery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie0390 Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 I've never actually studied Macbeth, but I did perform in it last year with a local Shakespeare troupe. I remembered a specific quote from the Witches ("Fair is foul and foul is fair") but couldn't remember the Act it was in, so I googled it and ended up stumbling across this site that might help: http://www.clicknotes.com/macbeth/Fairandf.html It doesn't give much in-depth analysis, but it certainly has a lot of good quotes that should make it easier for you to expand on the theme of fair/foul. Like I said, there's not a lot of analysis, but I think that's a good thing because it leaves you with room to discuss and interpret the quotes on your own terms. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zac.miles Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Yeah I would agree, looking at the theme of darkness in Macbeth would be a good choice - you can focus on how the physical darkness lines up with the moral darkness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceisland Posted March 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Thanks guys, but I wrote the paper six months ago. Haha, I guess this thread can probably be locked or something. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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