Examples Of Hallucinations In Macbeth

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Though Shakespeare’s Macbeth does follow a man’s untimely destruction as a result of his pride and ambition, what is more important is not that he was destroyed, but that he was able to fall far enough from the light of humanity to allow himself to be. One of the most important elements of the tragedy are hallucinations and visions. They serve not only to follow the destruction of Macbeth, but to explain how and why he fell. Moreover, Macbeth’s hallucinations show the psychological repercussions of committing an unforgivable crime. The vision of the dagger first shows Macbeth’s transition from noble to evil. As the apparition appears before him, he ponders whether it is real or not, asking “art thou but / a dagger of the mind, a false creation / Proceeding from the head-oppresséd brain” (2.1.49-51)? In this moment, Macbeth is committed to the murder, yet he still appears at least somewhat reserved about the act, which highlights Macbeth’s current transition to the monster he would soon become. Moreover, as the dagger was covered with “gouts of blood,” Macbeth’s hallucination serves to foretell of his future misdeeds (2.1.58). Just as Macbeth is about to be covered in the blood of …show more content…
The elements of the supernatural and of mystery that surround the scene in the form of an intangible dagger play into the confusion and misunderstandings that ultimately drive Macbeth to his death by coercing him into committing increasingly evil tasks. Furthermore, this first hallucination also functions to situate Macbeth in an intermediate position between the war hero first introduced at the beginning of the play to the mass murderer in the midst of a psychotic break by the end. Macbeth’s hallucination acts as a bridge between who he was and who he was destined to become, showing that the line between free will and fate is ever a gray

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