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Who Is To Blame In Shakespeare's Macbeth?

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In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the character Macbeth holds a self-discussion in which he speaks about his current situation and his hesitation to execute the slaying of the king. Macbeth questions whether or not his situation is real when seeing a “dagger of mind, a false creation” (2.1.50). He sees a false dagger because he may want an easy way to find a dagger, or he may be constantly be thinking about weapons because of his high stress-level. He continues to ask himself if his situation is real and wonders“I see thee yet, in form as palpable” (2.1.52). 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 …show more content…

Nonetheless, the quote may also be a prediction of the future. If Macbeth were to kill Duncan after he recites this soliloquy and the people don’t know who did it, then people will be scared knowing there is a murderer out there, ending the lives of the powerful. On the other hand, it could be interpreted alternately and instead Macbeth could be referring to the nation. The wicked dreams could be bad deeds such as murder and the curtained sleep could be Scotland and the peace of the area the main characters currently occupy. Identifying the celebration, Macbeth knows “Pale Hecate’s off’rings”(2.1.64-65) are in the form of a deed he will do, which is a great sacrifice to the Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. Macbeth figures a tactic he could use to murder the king comparatively to “the wolf/Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace” (2.1.66) and to move into Duncan’s room quietly for a quick and nearly inaudible death. Macbeth wants the Earth to do him a favor and to “Hear not my steps, which way they walk” (2.1.70) because he does not want anything or anyone to see him committing his …show more content…

Therefore, Macbeth is not considered a sinner and would go to heaven, and it also may be a practice of equivocation and along with saying only fragments of the truth out loud, there could be a physical form in which one must hide their actions by asking nature to assist them in doing so. This situation can be compared to earlier in the play when he asks for stars to hide their fires so he can lead bloodshed invisible to those who determine his fate. After all of this thought, Macbeth knows he must act quickly and “Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.”(2.1.74). The temperature, such as heat and cold, has a larger significance in the play than the text in which it was used in. Weather represents two vastly different things such as fate. While Macbeth is planning to kill the king, his heart is cold but Duncan has served his country well and has not done any horrible things, and therefore his heart is warm. Macbeth understands that the more he speaks about his plan to kill Duncan, it may enhance the planning of the death, but it will decrease the desire and bravery he needs to pull this

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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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In Macbeth's soliloquy he says “A dagger of the mind, a false creation Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as

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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-oppressèd brain?” (2.1.44-51). Macbeth tries to grasp the dagger, but realizes that it is only an illusion and has no tangible form.

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In his soliloquy, "Is this a dagger that I see before me…" (Shakespeare 2.1.43), Macbeth speaks of his ambition and willingness to defy the laws of morality to gain power. Macbeth's ambitions are presented in a sympathetic light as we can see his struggle between his ambition and his conscience. Some people can sympathize with Macbeth's current struggle for more, his lust for more from his life, and the guilt that he struggles with, even thinking about his potential actions. Within Macbeth's soliloquies, we can see his consciousness. He is constantly questioning his actions and weighing the moral consequences of his choices.

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Macbeth questions“Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?... I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.”. This could potentially represent the severed connection between Macbeth’s mind and reality. Shakespeare’s use of rhetorical questions implies Macbeth might be having second thoughts on killing King Duncan as he tries to grab the fake dagger, but fails in doing so probably representing his conscience and his reluctance to kill King Duncan. This links to the theme of disturbed emotions as hallucinations are one of the side effects of suffering from disturbed emotions, however Jacobean audiences didn’t understand mental illnesses so they wouldn’t have seen this scene the same way a Modern audience would.

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Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o ' th ' milk of human kindness ,To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great,Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” Also concludes that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth always wanted to kill King Duncan from the very past and that when they got to know that they can be the king and queen they were ready and prepared to kill Duncan

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Macbeth’s ambition is one of the most prominent things that drive Macbeth in the play and truly becomes evident when he hears of the Witches prophecies. When the witches stop talking, he demands to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (I, III, 73-74). This portrays his excessive curiosity on the subject as well as his craving for more desirable prophecies. This ambitious nature and craving for power is also demonstrated only moments after hearing the witches, when he starts formulating a plan to kill Duncan in order to make the third prophecy come true.

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