book

Superstiton and Symbolism in Macbeth

21 Pages 744 Words 1557 Views

There are many scenes which include a character's superstitions in Shakespeare's “Macbeth.” Macbeth and his wife fall into a lot of these superstition throughout the play. They fall into the superstitions of the witches and believe their prophecies. As a result they commit many sins and murders out of greed. These sins start to subconsciously overcome Macbeth and Lady Macbeth with guilt. Some examples of the ways we know that they feel guilty are the dagger, banquet and the sleepwalking scenes. All of these scenes occur in different places and happen to different people. All of these scenes have many differences and different effects on the play. However, they also have many similarities. Each scene helps to show the audience the guilty conscience that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have as a result of the murders. All of these scenes superstitiously make the main characters finally feel the consequences of their actions. The witches in the play predict to Macbeth that he will be king of Scotland. The Third Witch says, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King / hereafter!” (I. ii. ll, 56-57). This was just a shove to Lady Macbeth to consider the murder of King Duncan so her husband could take the throne. She eventually persuades Macbeth to murder him. Just before he goes to kill him he becomes afraid and guilty. When he prepares to kill Duncan he starts to hallucinate. Macbeth sees a floating dagger with blood on it. This is obviously just his imagination and conscious speaking, but to superstitious Macbeth it meant something. He says, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! / I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. / 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-oppressed brain?” (II. i. ll, 43-48). This is the first symbol of guilt that Macbeth feels. He doesn’t

Read Full Essay