THE DAGGER SCENE

The focus of the soliloquy, the invisible dagger or the dagger of the mind, is our first glimpse of
Macbeth's powerful imagination – imagination that is largely responsible for his mental torment
throughout the drama. In this soliloquy, Macbeth’s mind is wrought almost to madness by the
deeds he is about to perpetrate (perform), he is the victim of a hallucination. He is a victim of
the disparity between illusion and reality because of his unstable mind.

Macbeth thinks for a moment that he actually sees a dagger floating before him, “I have thee
not, and yet I see thee still” but with a strong effort he recovers and pronounces the vision as
unreal ‘false creation.’ Macbeth uses three rhetorical questions to convey his conflict to the
readers such as “Is this dagger…my hand?”  Macbeth detaches himself from the reality and
addresses an imaginary character, in this case, the dagger, using the imperative “Come”. This
is also an example of apostrophe. Macbeth knows that the dagger is an optical illusion, and
suspects that it could be brought about by his potentially "heat-oppressed brain" or feverish
mind. It is an illustration of imagery.

Macbeth feels that the dagger he sees is the same as the one which he is about to use to murder
Duncan, “palpable …I draw.” It seems to be leading him to the King’s presence ‘marshall’st’,
which is a terminology from war, and furthermore supports his rank in the army and warfront.
The irony is that, the brave soldier who has been the chief commander of the Scottish army
leading other soldiers has now reached a state where he depends on somebody else to lead him.
If the dagger is unreal, his eyes, which testify to its presence, are pronounced foolish by other
senses. If on the contrary, the dagger is really there, the testimony of his eyes is more reliable
than that of his other senses. The sensual imagery used here is effective in appealing to the
readers' senses. He allows the phantom dagger, soon stained with imaginary "gouts of blood”,
to affect him greatly. Dagger seems to grow more real for Macbeth; he can now distinguish
drops of blood on its blade and hilt. The murder ‘the bloody business’ which is occupying his
mind, seems to take visible shape in the form of a dagger. It is an example of euphemism and
metonymy. His mind is full of dark thoughts and this fearless soldier is now tormented by
images of blood, and fear of the unknown. But these do not dissuade him from his course of
action. Dagger is the symbolic instigator of the crime.

He becomes aware of the dark, silent world around him. Nature and natural feeling seem dead.
He alludes to the darkness of his own heart and his crimes uch as when he says, "Nature …
dead, …wicked dreams curtain'd sleep...” Evil dreams play about him and deceive him. Sleep
is here personified as a man resting in a curtained bed.  Again, it is clear that he's recognizing
the unfairness in his own deeds. He talks about how dark and grim the night is, even though he
isn't explicitly talking about killing the king. As Macbeth talks of these things, they seem to
become a part of him that grows in his own heart. The darkness is a symbol of the way evil
powers are rising up to strike at the powers of goodness and light. The darkness in Macbeth's
mind expressing itself as bad weather is a common motif seen throughout the drama.

Enhancing the ominous and spooky atmosphere is the use of successive classical allusions to
people and practices which conjure up images of satanic and earthly evil. Hecate, the goddess
of night and witchcraft is preparing her sacrificial victims; and Murder is summoned by his
trusted watchman, the wolf; moving stealthily with the power and speed of evil king Tarquin
towards his prey. Murder is personified here. The sneaking movement of the Tarquin is
compared to that of a ghost using the simile ‘like a ghost’. This states the belief of the people in
the supernatural powers.

Frightened by the apparition of a ‘dagger of the mind’, he prays that the earth will ‘hear not my
steps’ as he completes his bloody plan. Macbeth fancies in his overwrought mood that if the
stones of the courtyard know which way he is going, they would cry out and reveal his
presence.  Macbeth feels torn between guilt and temptation about the murder of Duncan. It is
clear that Macbeth's lust and greed are pushing him over the brink of insanity. 

The dagger itself is a symbol of conscience. It floats in the air, representative of those things
which will take place. The King has not yet been murdered, but the dagger foreshadows his
death. Macbeth hasn't yet committed the unthinkable, but yet his conscience is already riddled
with guilt. The dagger symbolizes what will be and the darkness that will follow.

Despite Macbeth's recognition of all his flaws and sins, he still goes through with his plan.  Guilt
and insanity are all weighing down on him hard, but he musters up the resolve, follows his
hallucinations and murders Duncan. A bell is heard which is the death knell or funeral bell of
Duncan. Here we get a reference to Christian practices. Macbeth seems to transfer his own
doubts concerning afterlife to Duncan: whether the King will go to heaven or hell, ironically for
Macbeth the outcome is likely to be more certain. When he has been pondering the murder
earlier, he was assured of the King’s salvation, because of Duncan’s many virtues. But now , he
is no longer certain that the king is bound to heaven, which makes the cruelty of his crime even
greater.