Macbeth's Soliloquy- Act 2

Hallucination:

• Can see a dagger, but doesn't know it's relevence. Is it a prophecy, a sign that he will kill the king? Or is it just an image reflecting what he had been thinking about lately. 'Art thou not, fatal vision... Or art thou A dagger of the mind , a false creation'. (Lines 36-28)
• Vision changes to one of a bloody dagger, and Macbeth seems to be concerned about the change, and it brings about the turning point within his soliloquy.
• He feels that by seeing it, his eyes 'are made the fools o'the other senses'. He is unsure as to whether he is actually seeing it. (Line 44)
• Brings out his own dagger, almost to compare with what he thinks he's seeing. Might be prophetic, that he is definately going to commit to the murder of Duncan. Macbeth believes the dagger is ordering him,or controlling him. 'marshall'st me the way'. (Line 42)

Change in attitude (Turning point)

• Macbeth snaps out of his concerned/confused state of mind about the hallucination, and tells himself 'There's no such thing.' (Line 47). You can almost say he starts to think 'rationally' (if rational is deciding to kill somebody!) He is more decisive, and sets his sights on the task at hand.
• He uses the visions of Hecat (goddess of witches) and Tarquin (rapist) to compare his movements towards the deed. 'Moves like a ghost'. (Line 56). These are two horrible visions, and really help to emphasise the evil in the act Macbeth is about to carry out.

Gothic Elements

• Blood/Gruesome imagery. The blood on the dagger and the use of a semantic field with 'deathly' vocabulary all tie in with the murder. 'Dagger... fatal... bloody'.
• Witches. Shakespeare uses the goddess of witches to compare with his act and movement towards it.
• Supernatural vs Nature. 'Nature seems dead...witchcraft celebrates'.
• 'That summons thee to heaven or to hell'. (Line 64).