Macbeth Contrast between light and dark as symbols for life and death

The opposition of light and dark as symbols for life and death is the foundation upon which much of Shakespeare's Macbeth is built. Darkness in our society is indicative of many symbols of evil. For instance, a black cat, dark night, and dark place are all ominous symbols. Light, as it is used in Macbeth, often seems to be indicative of truth or life. The contrast between light and dark in Macbeth can best be …

…This suggests that they do not want the decency of the light to lay eyes on their detestable actions. In Macbeth, Shakespeare made the majority of evil actions occur during the night in order to attest to the fact that evilness is correlated with darkness. Conversely, Shakespeare linked the aspect of light with a certain goodness or truth. These elements combine to contrast the features of the distinction between light and darkness in the play.