Society has frequently imposed a stereotype on the word "night." Individuals automatically connect night with other words such as sleep, darkness, and evil. Shakespeare builds on this stereotype in his play, "Macbeth." Through the employment of the word night, Shakespeare advantageously relays underlying themes and character conflicts to his readers. As the audience follows Macbeth through his journey of self-destruction by bloody ambition, individuals are constantly aware of the purposeful repetition of the word. Throughout this tragedy, Shakespeare associates night with darkness, evilness, concealment, vulnerability, and death. Although night and evil dominate during the earlier acts, ultimately evil breeds its own destruction, thus enabling light and day to prevail.

Night is first utilized as a source of concealment and disguise for Macbeth and his lady. Macbeth, under the guidance of his wife, first kills in the darkness of night and continues to do so, using the night to...