Metaphors In Macbeth's Soliloquy

ANALYSIS/ IMPLICATIONS: These euphemisms show that Macbeth thinks that Duncan must die for him to succeed, and they show that he is feeling some

Blood as a motif appears early in the play. In this particular part of the play, blood is shown to represent future acts of violence. While waiting for the signal to enter the king's chamber to kill King Duncan, Macbeth spots an imaginary dagger. Macbeth eyes down the dagger, and sees blood slowly creeping its way down. He proclaims, “And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood,/ Which was not so before” (2.1.58-59). Macbeth is extremely hesitant about committing a regicide against King Duncan, and when he sees the dagger, he is already imagining it covered in King Duncan's blood. This paranoia is representative of the immense presence of violence and fear in the play. At the same time, Macbeth is already feeling guilty for even contemplating whether he should kill King Duncan. Macbeth ends up following through with his and Lady Macbeth’s plan: regicide of Duncan.

     The second type of literary device that Shakespeare uses in Macbeth is symbolism. The predominant symbol is blood and is used as an effective method to describe the theme of the play. Not only does blood symbolize bravery, it is also a means of showing treachery and treason and probably most importantly, guilt. One example of bravery occurs when the captain says, "For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name--/Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,/Which smoked with bloody execution"(1.2.16-18). Soon after this blood changes into a representation of treachery and treason. Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to "Make thick my blood,/ Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse" (1.5. 43-44). She asks the spirits to take away compassion and make her remorseless for the actions she is about to take. Also, when Ross asks, "Is’t known who did this more than bloody deed?" (2.4.22), he tries to figure out who performed the disloyal act of murdering the king. Blood is also used many times to express the guilt-ridden consciences of the characters. For instance, Macbeth says, "What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine own eyes!/ Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash the blood/ Clean from my hand?" (2.3.58-60). Macbeth obviously feels guilty for killing Duncan in cold blood. Later in the play, Lady Macbeth

Before Macbeth goes through with his plan to kill King Duncan, he sees a bloody dagger floating before him. Hallucinating, Macbeth says to the dagger “I see thee still, /and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, / which was not so before... There’s no such thing: / It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes” (Shakespeare, 370). When Macbeth explains the “bloody business” he is referring to the killing of King Duncan. Although Duncan has trusted Macbeth to keep him safe in his home, Macbeth’s thoughts show his contemplation whether to murder King

When Macbeth imagines that there is a bloody dagger before him even before he is about to kill Duncan, it represents his guilt even before he has committed any crimes. Macbeth has planned the entire act of killing Duncan and as he walks to Duncan's room, he hallucinates that there is a bloody dagger sitting before him, inviting him to kill Duncan. This bloody dagger is a window to Macbeth's future of guilt after killing the king. Even before Macbeth has done a deed he feels guilty for what he is about to do. This dagger is there as a warning for what is to come in his future if he does kill the king.

In this passage, Shakespeare uses the metaphor of sleep and purgatory, the symbol of the dagger, and the motif of deception and temperature to characterize Macbeth as conflicted and insane, ultimately to foreshadow the metaphorical demise of Duncan and Macbeth. In this passage, Macbeth has promised to murder King Duncan. He plans to do it this night, while everyone is asleep. As Macbeth sees a floating dagger on his way to kill Duncan, he questions saying “Is this a dagger which I see before me,”. Through the use of the phrase “Is this”, which means Macbeth is questioning himself, Shakespeare characterizes Macbeth as hesitant and conflicted. As Macbeth tries to figure out if the dagger is real, he wonders if it is his own brain and says “Or

Everyday, people face decisions that could impact the rest of their lives. However, few are as far-reaching as Macbeth’s. Through his use of metaphors and symbolism, Shakespeare in his tragedy Macbeth explains the title character's predicament, to kill Banquo or not, reflecting the unstable world he lives in.

Macbeth has a hallucination of a dagger floating in the air in front of him, the handle points toward his hand and its sharp end aiming to Duncan. He realizes what he sees is not real. Continuing to look at the dagger, he thinks he sees blood on the blade “And on thy blade and dudgeon gout of blood” (2.1.46). He then dismisses it all thinking it’s just him being uneasy about what is about to happen. So when

The important idea ‘Death’ keeps popping up in Macbeth's head. Macbeth seems to always have visions and hallucinations about the floating dagger. It is seen in Act 2, scene 1. Macbeth began to have visions, when he said his famous words that were, “Is this a dagger which I see before me?”. ‘The floating dagger’ covered in blood makes him think of the choices he’s about to make, whether he should do it or not.

This quote depicts Macbeth hallucinating as a result of the stress caused by the murder he is about to commit (the “bloody business”). Originally, Macbeth imagines a dagger floating in the air directly in front of him with drops of blood gradually appearing and covering both the blade and handle. He eventually comes to the realization the dagger is just a figment of his imagination and the thought of killing Duncan is conjuring up these unnerving images. Subsequently, the king’s imminent death, in conjunction with the presence of blood on the dagger clearly illustrates how the image of blood is represented in this quote. By appearing on the dagger itself, blood foreshadows the untimely demise of Duncan, as it will be his blood staining the dagger which took his life. Furthermore, by referring to the murder of Duncan as “bloody business”, the image of blood is once again reinforced, and in addition, it highlights an immoral aspect of Macbeth’s character, as such a savage murder reveals a ruthless side of him which we have only witnessed on the battlefield (I.ii.18-25).

William Shakespeare employs the use of soliloquies for a variety of reason, essentially revealing the characteristics of a protagonist through the use of soliloquies. The scholarly article, publicized by the Hutchinson Encyclopedia, explains a soliloquy is employed “as a means of conveying information about a character's intentions, motives, and general state of mind. It is a way of revealing a character's innermost thoughts on stage” (1). A soliloquy allows the audience to see a more personal side of the protagonist. By explaining personally from the thoughts of the protagonist, this personal monologue allows characters to reveal a more personal side of the story. From the perspective of a character, a soliloquy is the most involved a

Shakespeare’s use of assonance accentuates Macbeth’s hesitance to kill Duncan, emphasizing the layered metaphors which illustrate the wheel of Fortune. Through his metaphors of how the pupil will turn against his teacher, the monster will attack its creator, shakespeare “Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return / To plague th' inventor: this even-handed justice / Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice / To our own lips,” (1,7,9-12). The pupil will turn against his teacher, the monster will attack its creator. The repetition of the initial vowel sounds leads to quick shapes between metaphors. This rapid change of pace also exemplifies how quickly the tides may shift in the play. The wheel of fortune is subjected to turn quicker than both Macbeth and maybe Macbeth expected. In short, Macbeth’s hesitance to kill Duncan meshed with how the wheel of fortune, are the outcomes of Shakespeare’s deliberate use assonance with metaphor.

The highly acclaimed play called Macbeth often uses many literary devices and imagery to come to a conclusion about a topic. One of the frequent uses of imagery in this play is the imagery of sleep and death. Shakespeare often uses the sleep and death imagery to set a tense and eerie tone in the play. This is seen in the actions of Lady Macbeth in act 5 of the play, the actions of the character Macbeth, and the scene of and following Duncan’s death.

Macbeth addresses the dagger; again, this time with a deeper voice, "I see thee still", a caesura in the third foot indicates something is wrong. The dark imagery that follows, “And now on thy...not so before", required much audience interaction, to make them visualize blood on the dagger. Bear in mind, Macbeth was hallucinating. He believes he was touching a 'blade', feeling the blood on it. The lights dim and horror submerges him, walking towards the audience and into the sixth level of tension. I showcase the dripping fingers anti-clockwise to the audience, heavy breathing and shivering comprises my body language. A murderous soundtrack starts playing, and a spotlight falls on me as I say "gouts of blood" this signifies that the disease which Macbeth bears results from malignant tumors of Duncan. He believes that he has had enough and dismisses the idea ‘there's no such thing' by aimlessly striking the dagger, to make it disappear. Spotlight vanishes. The caesura here plays a significant role as it becomes a turning point in the monologue, this is when Macbeth is finally ready to kill

Soliloquies are a valued literary device used in many forms of literature, although most often seen in plays. Take the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare for example. It withholds numerous soliloquies, they are key to giving out specific pieces of information that would not be spoken of through normal conversation. Soliloquies in the play also show the overall development of the characters. Most of those solus words show the fiery hatred that other characters share for one another, if not fear, guilt, or grief. Soliloquies enforce a rather significant function in this play, and all will be explained below.