Emotions In Macbeth Essay

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Throughout the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth comes face to face with several supernatural happenings as he embarks towards his goal of becoming, and remaining, king of Scotland. However, many of these events are merely projections of his emotions and his state of being. Firstly, the dagger he sees floating above him is not tangible and rather reflects his ambition to kill Duncan, using it as an outlet to direct him to murder. The voices Macbeth hears the night of the murder are purely in his head, displaying his insecurities of the big changes that have just transpired, his emotions taking control over his mind. Lastly, after the killing of Banquo, Macbeth sees his ghost as a result of his emotional response to the situation …show more content…

Even though he was originally uncertain in respect to the scheme, his greed cut through his feelings of uneasiness, allowing his imagination to be used as a crutch and support him in this defining event. Furthermore, this increase in ambition impacted Macbeth’s character greatly within a short period of time and could possibly have influenced the appearance of the dagger. Lady Macbeth was a key factor in fueling her husband’s desire and caused him to quickly change his opinion towards killing Duncan, as shown in the quotation said by Macbeth, “I am settled, and bend up/Each corporal agent to this terrible feat./Away, and mock the time with fairest show:/False face must hide what false heart doth know” (1.7.89-92). He describes the deception that he will take part in, how every part of his body will be strained trying to reach his goal, almost in an obsessive manner. This emphasizes how determined he is at that moment to see the murder through, to kill his king so that he may rise in rank. All these emotions had been concentrated within one night, during one talk with his wife, and it has been projected into a dagger to help him cope. His character has been altered so drastically from a loyal, righteous man to one taken over by his fiery ambition to the point that his mind begins to see things that …show more content…

These voices were not actually present, but were due to Macbeth’s guilt and anxiety towards his malicious acts, causing his concern to come out through another manner. He comes to his wife in a state of distraught after the murder, describing what he has heard, “Still it cried, ‘Sleep no more!’ to all the house:/‘Glamis hath murder’d sleep: and therefore Cawdor/Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more!’” (2.2.54-56). They tell him that he shall “sleep no more” as in his life will no longer be peaceful and that he will not be able to sleep due to the worries that will come. His fears and doubts have begun to affect his mental condition and are projected through hallucinations. As he feels more and more troubled about the crime he has committed, the more his surroundings reflect his state of mind. In addition, this “warning” shows how Macbeth understands what he has done and the magnitude of it, that there will be consequences for his actions. He has defied his morals and allowed his ambition to change him, however, he is unable to cope with his new fear, thus causing him to hear the foreboding prophecy. Understanding this guilt, he

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