Writers’ use of various semantic meanings in their creative works is traditionally associated with the author’s internal desire to carry a particular thought through that image. Readers who study literature independently tend to interpret these meanings through the prism of their own experience, which means that it is highly likely that the use of the same elements by different authors and even in different books by the same author may not be understood in the same way. On the contrary, it is often the case that different authors seek to bring similar meanings to works using the same semantic imagery. Among these, the role of contrast, which is achieved on the integration of dark and light images, is particularly noteworthy. The most notable use of dark styles is found in John Milton’s Paradise Lost and William Shakespeare’s Othello. In these classic works of poetry, dark imagery is used extensively by the authors to reinforce opposition to light styles, but additionally, the playwrights showed that darkness should not be taken unequivocally. This essay aims to qualitatively explore the use of such meanings in the two works mentioned.
One of the central themes of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy is the juxtaposition of contrasts. The reader is made aware of this almost from the very beginning when the protagonist Othello is introduced as an African of Moorish descent. For sixteenth-century British poetry, the use of dark-skinned characters in prominent plot positions was novel because racist slogans in public sentiment were still strong. This is perfectly illustrated in Othello, when the dark-skinned protagonist, which inevitably gives rise to thoughts of “crude Africans,” turns out to be a decent and pious character. Thus, one of the first and most obvious uses of dark imagery is aimed at Shakespeare’s desire to show that not everything “dark” is characterized as evil and bad, as it might seem at first glance.
However, it would be erroneous to say that Shakespeare did not use dark imagery, among other things, to demonstrate a dark, hidden style. The tragedy of Othello is replete with various uses of dark signs and characters to emphasize the character’s unkindness. One of these is Iago’s lieutenant, whose actions are often described in the context of a deep, dark night. Against the background of the angelic bright Desdemona, who traditionally wears white dresses, Iago appears as a grim ignoramus whose motives and actions are associated with self-serving evil. Thus, it is correct to say that the use of the image of darkness in the work of Othello was also necessary to reinforce the boundary effects between good and bad.
Dark styles to enhance the contrast with white imagery are used effectively in another work post-Elizabethan England, namely Paradise Lost by John Milton. Milton uses dark colors in his biblical subjects to signify the Devil’s powers. The use of dark colors to heighten the ominousness is particularly evident at the beginning of book three when the playwright uses words such as “obscure,” “eternal night,” and “darkness” (Milton 45). This is used for the apparent opposition to the luminous angels and God, which Milton describes in terms of divine-luminous shades. These thoughts are borrowed from the evangelist John, who literally wrote that “…God is light; in him, there is no darkness at all” (1 Jh. 1:5). Thus, the use of dark imagery in Milton’s work is implemented to heighten the contrast between light and darkness, good and evil.
Once again, however, it would be a mistake to assign unambiguous meaning to the dark rhetoric in Paradise Lost. On the contrary, Milton describes God and the Devil as complex characters who do not differ in color alone. The most striking episode confirming the non-uniqueness of the images of good and evil relates to the reference to Adam and Eve. The people standing between God and the Devil have initially been associated with divine light and goodness, but after Eve’s original sin, provoked by the Devil, they were cast out of the light into darkness. By this example, Milton shows that God can also carry darkness if he considers it just since it is his will that people are driven out of Paradise. An additional example of the transition between light and darkness, and thus the softening of the boundary between good and evil, is the fallen angels in the service of the Devil: like humans, these angels were sinful because they crossed over to the side of darkness. This means that the use of darkness as an image in Paradise Lost has a concomitant meaning, through which Milton tries to show that the world is not composed only of black and white colors.
It is not difficult to draw parallels between the use of darkness as a symbol in Othello and Paradise Lost. Both Shakespeare and Milton are careful to show that there is no unambiguous dark and light imagery, but that integration must be sought everywhere. Thus, the fallen angels and Adam and Eve and Paradise Lost are juxtaposed with Othello, who semantically combines naturally dark colors — African skin — with light, kindly urges. Furthermore, like Eve, who has committed sin, Othello commits the murder of Desdemona at the end of the poem, which is metaphorically described by Shakespeare as “put out the light and then put out the light” (Shakespeare 235). This defines the desire of both playwrights to soften the boundaries set by society between dark and light, white and dark, good and evil since there is nothing unambiguous in this world.
Meanwhile, both Shakespeare and Milton turn to the classic use of darker shades to heighten the contrast between light and darkness. Thus, the authors of the works often turn to this tool to emphasize the contrast in an image (Kampf). These arguments may seem to contradict the previous paragraph, but it is essential to recognize that in order to minimize the boundaries between light and darkness, it was necessary to set these boundaries first. Through the darkness, Shakespeare was showing darkness and secrecy, and Milton was addressing darkness when he described the world of hell. These associations helped the reader to feel rhetorically more potent the difference between light and dark. Thus, this textbook tool for the use of dark styles was used intentionally by the authors, simplifying the work for the reader.
To summarize, it is accurate to note that the images of darkness are not unambiguously used in the two works studied. Both Shakespeare’s Othello and Milton’s Paradise Lost try to teach the reader not to judge phenomena and people only by the first impression. Thus, the darkskin Othello is not connected to natural darkness until the last chapters, and not all of Milton’s angels are genuinely light. In addition, the use of darkness has another symbolic function. In particular, the contrast between good and evil is heightened through the use of darkness. This makes it easier for the reader to understand which character is good and which should be associated with darkness.
Works Cited
Kampf, Diane. Dark & Light Symbolism in Literature. Pen & Pad, 2017, Web.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Global Language Resources, 2001.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello. Folger Shakespeare Library, 2017.