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Frame Of Mind In Act 2 Scene 1 Of Macbeth

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In act 2 scene 1 of “Macbeth”, Macbeths frame of mind shows signs of unstableness and illusions through literary devices and language. In the dagger soliloquy, Macbeths describes a dagger that he could not see. He claims that it is there when in reality the dagger was a figment of his imagination. “Come, let me clutch thee: — I have thee not, and yet i see thee still, Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding to the heat oppressed brain?” (Shakespeare 1.2) Macbeths mind is playing tricks on him, making him question whether or not the dagger is truly in front of him or if he created it himself. When he says “false creation” in the scene it signals to the reader the mind created the dagger in front of Macbeth due to his ill favored thoughts. …show more content…

In act 1 scene 2, Macbeth uses these literary devices to show his stability to the reader. Macbeths anxiety is catching up to him making him question things that aren’t even possible. “Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear thy very stones prate of my whereabouts, and take the present horror from the time, which now suits it.” (Shakespeare 1.2). Macbeth personifies the stones in this scene, contemplating on whether or not they will give him away. This personification shows how Macbeth is frightened about what he is to do. It creates the image of him in a stressful state making things up. Macbeth also uses imagery to describe the horrid look of the dagger that faces him. “And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood which was not so before.” (Shakespeare 1.2) He not only used literary devices in this sentence, but he brings language like “dudgeon” to create more of an image. The image of the blade that Macbeth sees is not real, he created a fictional, bloody picture of this dagger from his own thoughts. This shows how Macbeths mind is confused and

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Macbeth Act 2 Motif In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the sleep and dream motif is associated with anxiousness and the feeling of insanity which show a dark and tense mood. The motif sleep/dream can also link to the feeling of insanity which show a dark, tense, and frightening mood. When Macbeth is talking to himself in his chamber and is thinking about killing Duncan, “Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand?

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(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!

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Is this his wavering conscience or destiny signalling to him? Shakespeare uses the personification here, where Macbeth asks to, “clutch thee,” implying that the dagger is beckoning him to commit the murder, again blaming external circumstances when really, interestingly, revealing his own intention. This visual imagery appears in the reader’s mind, crafted with a lure of power that even the bravest Macbeth could not resist. Shakespeare uses mimesis here, and mimics the reality of man in art: even somebody as infallible and heroic as Macbeth crumbles in front of unconstrained power and space. This is how weak and frail human nature is.

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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

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(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.

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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

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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).

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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

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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.

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In the past scene Macbeth is being hesitant in going through with the assassination of King Duncan. Macbeth has a moment where he talks to himself after he sees a floating dagger and says “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./Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible/ To feeling as to sight?or art thou but/A dagger of the mind, a false creation,/Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?.” (II.I, 44-49).

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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.

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This is an example of a paradox from the text. The purpose of this paradox is to stress how Macbeth is when he was committing the murder. The hallucination of the dagger feared him making him confused of himself. Besides paradox, Shakespeare also uses metaphor as comparison between two unlike object to create a more intense figure in the reader’s mind such as “A dagger of the mind, a false creation” (2.1.46) and “Nature seems dead” (2.1.58). “Nature seems dead” (2.1.58) is also a hyperbole found in the text with the purpose to emphasize on how nature has become still and that it seems to be dead.

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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.

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The dagger points to Duncan 's room and appears to be covered in blood. This encourages Macbeth to commit the crime of killing the king. Shakespeare is showing the audience that what Macbeth is about to do is evil and catastrophic which will change the whole course of the play. Moreover, his hallucination of the floating dagger signifies Macbeth’s confusion and he can no longer distinguish between his imagination and reality, which is why he firmly believes that the dagger is a sign to commit the

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