In literature, many types of literary elements such as mood, setting, irony, symbolism, and theme are used to convey the author's ideas and visions. Symbolism in novels is used to display a hidden meaning to things that some might not notice right off the bat. One such play that uses the literary element of symbolism to its fullest extent is Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare unlike some authors makes the meaning behind his symbols very hard to find at times. One such symbol is that of the significance of time.
In the play Macbeth, time is of much importance, however it is not the only novel of his that uses this symbol. One example of this is when Macbeth is approached by the weird sisters and told that he will be king "hereafter". Because of this, Banquo wonders if the witches really can look into the "seeds of time". Another example of time being used as a symbol is when Macbeth says that he is going to kill Duncan, king of Scotland. When this all was going on, Macbeth declares that " Present fears are less than horrible imaginings". From this, Macbeth decides that "Time and the hour runs through the roughest day". However, just before the murder, Macbeth reminds himself of his exact time and place so that when the murder happens, he can escape into his past. This excerpt was taken from the novel after Macbeth find out about his wife's death:.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, .
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day.
To the last syllable of recorded time, .
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools.
The way to dusty death.
This excerpt describes how Macbeth feels that his days are now meaningless, and it was his punishment for the crimes that he had committed. At the end of the play, one of the characters Macduff explains that since Macbeth has been murdered, "The time is free".
Another symbol used in the novel is that of sleep. ( - Thrasher, Thomas. "Understanding Macbeth" Lucent Books copyright 2002.