Artistic 's
The Calling of St Matthew uses darkness for its
chiaroscuro effects. Artists use darkness to emphasize and contrast the presence of light. Darkness can be used as a counterpoint to areas of lightness to create
leading lines and
voids. Such shapes draw the eye around areas of the painting. Shadows add depth and perspective to a painting. Color
paints are mixed together to create darkness, because each color absorbs certain frequencies of light. Theoretically, mixing together the three
primary colors, or the three
secondary colors, will absorb all visible light and create black. In practice, it is difficult to prevent the mixture from taking on a brown tint.
Literature As a poetic term in the
Western world, darkness is used to connote the presence of shadows, evil, and foreboding, or in modern parlance, to connote that a story is grim, heavy, and/or depressing.
Religion by
Michelangelo The concept of
light and darkness holds profound symbolic and theological significance across various religious traditions, serving as metaphors for creation, morality, and the nature of existence. In the
Judeo-Christian tradition, the first creation narrative begins with a void, described as "formless and empty," over which "darkness was over the surface of the deep" (
Genesis 1:2). Into this void,
God introduces light, declaring, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), and separates this light from the darkness. This initial act of creation is distinct from the later creation of celestial bodies—the sun and moon—on the fourth day. The symbolism of darkness and light in these traditions extends beyond the physical. Light is often associated with divine presence, knowledge, and goodness, while darkness symbolizes ignorance, separation from God, and sin. For example, in
Exodus 10:21, darkness is described as "the second-to-last plague" inflicted upon Egypt, representing both physical and spiritual blindness. Similarly, in the
New Testament,
Jesus frequently contrasts light and darkness in his teachings. Darkness is the "outer realm" where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (
Matthew 8:12), symbolizing eternal separation from God. In
Islam, light (
nūr) and darkness (
ẓulumāt) are frequently invoked in both physical and spiritual contexts, reflecting profound moral and theological truths. The
Quran begins its account of creation with
Allah (or God) making the heavens and the earth and then creating "the darknesses and the light" (Quran 6:1). However, unlike some traditions where darkness is portrayed as inherently evil or chaotic, Islam emphasizes that both are under Allah's divine will and serve His purposes. Light in the Quran often represents guidance, faith, and divine revelation, while darkness symbolizes misguidance, disbelief, and moral corruption. For instance, believers are often described as being "brought out from darkness into light" (Quran 2:257), a metaphor for their journey from ignorance to divine knowledge. This dichotomy underscores the moral framework of Islam, where both light and darkness are tools through which Allah tests and guides humanity. In ancient
Greek mythology,
Erebus was a primordial deity representing the personification of darkness, particularly associated with the shadowy realm of death and the
underworld. In Greek
cosmology, darkness was often linked to the afterlife, where souls journeyed into the depths of the underworld, a place of shadow and obscurity. Darkness in Greek cosmology was not merely an absence of light but a distinct and active force. The underworld, ruled by
Hades, was a place of obscurity and shadow, reflecting the ambiguous fate of the human soul after death. In this tradition, darkness often signified the unknown and the eternal, as well as the boundaries between life and the afterlife.
Philosophy In
Chinese philosophy,
yin is the complementary feminine part of the
taijitu and is represented by a dark lobe.
Poetry The use of darkness as a
rhetorical device has a long-standing tradition. William Shakespeare, working in the 16th and 17th centuries, made a character called the "prince of darkness" (
King Lear: III, iv) and gave darkness jaws with which to devour love. (
A Midsummer Night's Dream: I, i) Geoffrey Chaucer, a 14th-century Middle English writer of
The Canterbury Tales, wrote that knights must cast away the "workes of darkness". In
Divine Comedy, Dante described hell as "solid darkness stain'd".
Language In
Old English there were three words that could mean darkness: , and '
. ' also meant "hiding-place" and became holster. '
meant "mist" and fell out of use like many strong verbs. It is however still used in the Dutch saying "" which means secretly. ' meant "shadow" and remained in use. The word
dark eventually evolved from the word ''''. ==See also==