Frame Of Mind In Act 2 Scene 1 Of Macbeth

The author William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth uses many different rhetorical devices to explain his position on the world stage. One speech that shows 3 rhetorical devices is Act 2, Scene 1 Line 35-60. This speech is right before Macbeth kills Duncan Macbeth is hallucinating that there is a dagger floating and leading him towards Duncan’s room to kill him. And Macbeth is talking to himself about his courage to kill and what he is going to do. The text states “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.

Macbeth has the ambition, he does not have the ill intent to kill. Macbeth was a cowardly man, not wanting to risk anything and lose his reputation. However, in Act 2 Scene 1, the infamous dagger scene occurs. This is the start of the character development for Macbeth. “Is this a dagger which

Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation” (Shakespeare 2.1. 33-38). Macbeth sees the Dagger in front of him but cannot tell whether it is

"Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee./ I have thee not, and yet I see thee still" (2.1. 33-35). The use of this soliloquy demonstrates the guilt that Macbeth is feeling before he has even committed the act.

Macbeth’s fear is so intense that he does not know if he is touching the dagger or if it is a figment of his imagination. Alternately, he may wish what he is seeing is false because he knows his

(2,1,32-33) (‘’Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?”) Meaning that Macbeth is seeing things that aren’t there. An overwhelming focus on power is damaging to mental health this is manifested in Macbeth by him seeing things that aren’t there. Because Macbeth was fixated on keeping the power of the throne he suspected treason everywhere. An additional way that a fixation on the power of the throne can affect the mind is insecurity, when Macbeth put so much time and effort into being king he wants to feel secure in his position (4,1,71-72) (“Macbeth!

(1.3. 49-51) the protagonist Macbeth, in Macbeth by William Shakespeare, is a nobleman prophesied to become king. Macbeth believes in order to become king he must take destiny into his own hands and kill King Duncan. Macbeth is very close friends with King Duncan, “but when he is tempted by the three witches he starts his deteriorating mental path into evil(“Examine Macbeth’s…”).” This begins Macbeth’s downward spiral of mental decay starting with his first hallucination. Before Macbeth is about to assassinate King Duncan he hallucinates about a imaginary dagger.

To fulfill the prophecy, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decide that they are going to kill the King and expedite the process. Following the decision, Macbeth proclaims,“Is this a dagger which I see before me?” (2.1.33) He is about to kill the King, however he is questioning the very thought of doing so. Although he is only imagining the dagger at this point in the monologue, the question serves to let the readers know of his fatal intentions.

Finally, the vision of a bloody dagger that emerged right before the murder emboldened Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Prior to murdering Duncan, Macbeth was hesitant about following through with his wife 's merciless task. He doubted that he was able to murder one of his most loyal friends, until he saw the vision. On page 43, Act II, scene I, Macbeth sees the apparition: "Is this a dagger that I see before me with its handle turned to my hand?" Macbeth contemplates whether it is a figure of his imagination prompted on by his already guilty conscience, or a supernatural encounter that is compelling him to do the deed.

Macbeth, by Shakespeare, is a story of a great warrior named Macbeth who was told by three witches that he would become king. This prediction makes him think it is justified to kill the current king and once he is king he believes that he is invincible. In Macbeth, many symbols are used such as a dagger that isn’t there, hallucinations of blood, and ghosts to show the overwhelming guilt that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have over the murders to highlight the theme that guilt can drive people to insanity when kept in secret. First of all, Macbeth is alone and has decided that he is going to kill King Duncan. All of a sudden he sees a dagger but can’t feel it and says, “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still” (Shakespeare 2.1.35).

The phrase “towards my hands suggest that Macbeth could be imaging the dagger which could lead him

The voices he hears that threaten: “Macbeth shall sleep no more” indicate a relationship between guilt and madness. Therefore, the manifestation of the dagger suggests that he feels guilty because of his attempt to murder Duncan. There are three major transitions of thought. First, he contemplates about the dagger’s existence; the second is the invocations of dark images; finally, there is the bell that cuts off Macbeth’s contemplations. The transitions between topics indicate that while Macbeth feels guilty for the murder, his determination makes him ignore

Macbeth would envision a dagger before him asking himself “is (that) a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand”(act.2 scene.i). The dagger was a metaphor for his ambitions and motivation to make himself king with the help of his wife, Lady Macbeth. After King Duncan was killed, Macbeth felt he was evil at that point where he “belief(ed) he (was) to evil to blessed by god”(act.2 scene.ii). The guilt he felt would drive him to the point of madness and brought into question if he was human after that or something that could not be redeemed.

He says, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand” (Act 2.1.33-34). Macbeth hallucinates a bloody dagger leading him towards Duncan. He is already filled with guilt, knowing he will forever have Duncan’s blood on his hands. This makes his mind hallucinate a dagger similar to the actual

While the banquet was underway, Macbeth had graphic hallucination of Banquo, Lady Macbeth tried to calm Macbeth down and bring him back to reality: “O, proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear. This is the air-drawn dagger which you said led you to Duncan. ”(3.4.74-76). Lady Macbeth is trying to ease Macbeth by emphasizing that “this is the very painting of your fear” reminding him not to listen to the hallucination and that it only appears when he is scared.