Written around 1606, Macbeth is recognized as one of Shakespeare's greatest works. Macbeth chronicles the fall of the title character Macbeth, who goes from a respected and decorated soldier to a despised and tyrannical monarch. This fall from grace is accompanied by the motif of darkness. The darkness serves to establish the sinister and superstitious tone of the story, foreshadows events, and is used as a symbolic tool. One of the uses of darkness is to establish the dark and mysterious tone. An example of darkness used to establish tone is when Lennox notes the “unruly night.” (Act 2, scene 3) Lennox also points out that "chimneys were blown down", meaning there were strange wind patterns, and that "the dark bird", meaning owl, often associated with darkness, was noisy all night. This quote shows the disturbing events that happen at night and associates the darkness of the night with mysterious events. Another use of darkness for tone is when Lady Macbeth mentions it when she decides that she would help Macbeth do the dirty work needed to take the throne after reading his letter to her. As she invites the dark spirits to shed her femininity, she also says "...nor does the sky peer through the blanket of darkness to cry 'Wait, wait!'" (Act 1, scene 5) In this quote Lady Macbeth also uses the darkness metaphorically as a way she and her husband can keep their ambitions secret and how the darkness acts as a cover so no one can see them commit the murder. The secrecy desired by the Macbeths helps add a dark tone to the story. In both of these quotes, darkness establishes the enigmatic and cryptic tone that dominates the work. Also, darkness is used for... half of the card... l things since he decided to help Macbeth become king. It's a vain attempt to keep himself in a good light despite having done many bad things. Even though he physically keeps her in a bright state, he cannot take away the darkness from her heart. This struggle adds to his madness. In this scene the darkness and light represent good and evil, as often happens in many stories. Darkness is one of the most important motifs in Macbeth. It sets the tone, foreshadows the events of the story, and is used as a symbolic tool. When its uses are put together, the darkness helps show us the theme. Macbeth is a tragedy, slyly showing how fearless ambition can have disastrous effects. You can't get this far without suffering consequences. Sometimes all the work done isn't worth the price paid. And unfortunately for Macbeth it cost him everything.