The famous playwright William Shakespeare used symbolism in all of his thirty-seven plays. Light and darkness are used as powerful symbols of good and evil in his tragedy Macbeth. Shakespeare uses these themes of light and dark or day and night to form a real picture of the ongoing conflict in the play for the reader or viewer. The meaning of this specific symbol essentially creates the story of Macbeth. William Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth for King James I of England. Many supernatural and magical elements are incorporated into this tragedy, as the king's beliefs greatly influenced Shakespeare's writing. The main character, Macbeth, initially presents himself as a good-hearted, loyal and strong warrior, but he quickly begins to change. Then, three very ugly witches make Macbeth and his friend Banquo a series of predictions. The most important of these is that Macbeth will be king. With the encouragement and influence of his psychologically disturbed wife, he sets out to become king by any means necessary. After killing the current King Duncan, Macbeth takes the title and murders everyone who prevents him from keeping it. Macbeth's destruction and madness leads him to murder his best friend, to Lady Macbeth's suicide, and ultimately to his downfall and death. To begin with, Macbeth was written sometime between 1603 and 1607. During this period, the king was often associated with the sun. This 17th century...... middle of paper...... so much so that she orders to have light with her at all times. She implores the light to bring good and truth back into her life. After her suicide, Macbeth says, “Outside, put out a brief candle” (5.5.23), her artificial brightness extinguished and the darkness killed her. Shakespeare used the two distinct opposites, light and darkness, to reflect good and evil. As soon as King Duncan is assassinated, the light in the world disappears. Although everyone has light and darkness within them, the part we choose to act on makes us who we truly are. Macbeth allowed the darkness to bring out his true colors and destroy not only his life, but the lives of everyone around him. Unfortunately, once Lady Macbeth's life is invaded by darkness, she does everything to bring light into it. The roles that light and darkness play in this tragedy are essential not only to the plot, but also to the vivid image in everyone's mind..