Macbeth’s battle between his ambition and his morals reach a peak at this point of the play to the extent that he appears to have lost his sanity. By the end of Act I, Macbeth had made up his mind concerning the deed, after attempting to reason with himself but ultimately being influenced by Lady Macbeth, he committed himself to the murder. In this scene, Shakespeare finely exhibits the struggle between reason and delusion, just as Macbeth is about to kill Duncan. By the end of the soliloquy, Macbeth has completely given over to his ambition and madness, Shakespeare’s meticulous use of imagery clearly conveys Macbeth’s state of mind. His paranoia is evident as he is sure that ‘stones prate of my whereabout’, creating an image of a fearful Macbeth, and the audience sees how Macbeth’s nerves are playing mind games with himself. The ‘gouts of blood’ on the dagger symbolises Macbeth’s guilt, showing the audience that he is still sane, however we know that he is losing the battle against his ambition. As his downfall progresses, Macbeth is less contemplative and hesitant of his actions, and he begins to lose his sanity to ambition and paranoia. …show more content…
In the very first line of the soliloquy, ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me’, Shakespeare conveys Macbeth’s uncertainty by giving the pentameter a feminine ending, meaning the last syllable is unstressed. This uncertainty and anxiety is further enforced through the series of rhetorical questions from Macbeth as he wonders if the dagger is real or if it is ‘a dagger of the mind’. The short sentences throughout the soliloquy reflect Macbeth’s short points of lucidity at times, and increase the tension to express to the audience Macbeth’s rush of thoughts and alternating