Symbolism in Macbeth: Dagger, Ghosts, and Threes Essay

At the beginning of Scene 5, Hecate is shown to be angry at the three witches for the harm they had caused to Macbeth. She is not really mad at them for doing it; instead, she is mad at them for not including her. She contributes to their scheme by conjuring up magical illusions. The quote, “Upon the corner of the moon/There hangs a vap’rous drop profound./I’ll catch it ere it come to ground,/And that, distilled by magical sleighs,/Shall raise such artificial spirits,” (Shakespeare, 111) provides information that she does this. The magical illusions she conjures up are the three apparitions that will appear to Macbeth and eventually prophesize his

The three witches make three initial predictions. The first witch says, "All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis", the second witch then goes onto say, "All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor", the third witch then says "all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter". They also tell Banquo that his sons shall become King. The prophecies have a lot of influence over Macbeth. The witches are clever in coming to Macbeth at the right time and in what they said. They chose exactly the right moment to approach Macbeth. He is full of triumph and fresh from the fighting ad killing. He is at a particularly vulnerable time to have his head filled with thoughts of becoming king and fame. He says to Banquo "… Why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix to my hair, and make my seated heart knock on my ribs, Against the use of Nature." The text states clearly that Macbeth has murderous thought in his mind that are prompted by the prophecy, "Present fears, are less than horrible imaginings: My thought, whose murder is fantastical shakes so single state of man." It is an important point, it shows his reaction that someone has read his mind. The Witches are actually speaking Macbeth's innermost thoughts. Does this

In Act I, the three witches visit Macbeth and Banquo on the heath. The witches make three predictions; Macbeth will be the Thane of Cawdor, he will be King, and Banquo’s sons will be king but not Banquo. Even though the witches did make these prophecies, Macbeth’s fate was

Blood is something that we need to live. So it is clearly understood when Shakespeare uses the symbol of blood to represent murder, betrayal, and death, to show all of the evil that was going on. It is a symbol that was used the most in the play Macbeth, and had different meanings.

Hecate accurately predicts and sets in motion future events to her liking. After the battle in Act I, the witches chant “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!...” (Doc A), using their prophecies to awaken Macbeth’s bloodthirsty and greedy nature. Throughout the play, Hecate uses her witches to cultivate Macbeth’s ambition, inciting him to “Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth” (Doc D). A literary analysis aptly states that “The witches bring dark thoughts into being and give flesh to the forbidden and unacknowledged demons of the unconscious from which no one is free” (Cohen 7). Guiding the plot without consequence, Hecate is granted the ultimate

One would question the credibility of the enigmatic apparitions within Macbeth's renowned Act IV, Scene i. Shakespeare gains the audience's acceptance of the three mystically summoned apparitions through methodically foreshadowing a supernatural event is about to occur. Each stance of Shakespeare's foreshadowing -- cauldron potions, Hecate, the second witch's awareness of MacBeth, and stage direction -- contributes to the believability of the apparitions' appearance in the play.

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trusted soldier, who is honest and noble. Unfortunately, he meets three witches who tell him three prophecies; that he will become thane of Cawdor, that he will become king and that Banquo’s sons will become kings. These three prophecies slowly change his opinions on life and turn him into a greedy, dishonest, tyrant, full of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s thoughts change as well when she is told about the three prophecies that were told to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is

In this scene we see Macbeth in shock seeing Banquo’s ghost. Fear is shown through Macbeth’s words to make this scene dramatic. When Macbeth questions the guest “which of you have done this?” fear is shown which creates suspicion amongst the guest through his disorientated state of mind. He questions because he thinks it is not real and it must be a prank created by the guest. When Macbeth replies to Banquo’s ghost by saying “Thou Canst say I did it never shake thy gory locks at me” this is dramatic as it shows the audience that only Macbeth can see the ghost which creates dramatic tension because the guest are confuse. Fear and guilt is shown through Macbeth’s words as he is rejecting the fact that he was the murderer which is ironic as the audience is fully aware of how Banquo’s death was caused. Macbeth fear is shown when he says “I am cabined, cribbed, confined bound in to saucy doubts and fear” The repetition of harsh jarring “c” sound makes it dramatic as it shows Macbeth trapped in his own guilt. Shakespeare specially chooses to use alliteration to make this scene dramatic on stage and for the audience to easily understand his state of mind. His full extent of fear is shown later on as he would rather fight a “Russian bear” “armed rhinoceros or the hyrcan tiger” Shakespeare uses images of powerful and majestic animals to show the extent of his fear making this scene dramatic. The hyrcan tiger is a

In Roman Polanski’s version, the major symbol is the idea of dreaming and having hallucinations. In the modern version, Macbeth hallucinates in a couple different scenes. At the beginning of the murder scene, Macbeth first starts his hallucinations by visualizing a dagger in front of his face. The dagger is pointing in the direction of King Duncan’s room, which foreshadows that it is almost time for Macbeth to kill the King. After the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth starts his hallucinations again as he was being haunted with many different nightmares.

The Throne of Blood is a film that attempts to recreate Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth." This tale is one of greed, deception, and backstabbing traitors. It is the tale of a man prophesized to be king. Once king, he wants more and tries to get what he wants. However, his `trustworthy' friend stabs the king in the back and eventually dies himself. In the end, all that is left is a bunch of dead guys and a castle without a king; pretty tragic if you ask me.

     Shakespeare used clothing both symbolically and as a vehicle of character definition. Clothes were often used in Macbeth's case to symbolize his titles.  Symbolic clothing is identified when Ross tells Macbeth of his new title Thane of Cawdor when Macbeth does not know of the Thane's treason,

know that blood would become her worst enemy, in the long run, so as a

The scene shows the three witches lack of consideration of the outcome of their prophecy as they did not consult with their higher power, Hecate over whether they should tell Macbeth of his prophecy. Their thoughtless actions caused for many deaths and much corruption amongst themselves and the entire country of Scotland. The witches’ gain of power furthermore corrupted them as they did not tell Macbeth his full prophecy. When the witches first tell Macbeth of his fate the first witch states, “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!” (1.3. 48-50) This is then followed by the second witch claiming “all hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!” and finally the third witch states, “All hail Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!” the prophecy given can be seen as false as they suggest that Macbeth is to be king for a long time when they state “hereafter”

Using the symbols of the daggers and witches throughout the play, Shakespeare shows Macbeth’s feelings about his betrayal towards those close to him. This implies that Macbeth is weak, he is seeing the dagger that isn't really there, knowing he is going to kill his friend whom he was once loyal to. In the play of “Macbeth” the hero Macbeth has slain enemies and came back from a successful battle then out of nowhere the weather begins to change and he sees the 3 old women Saying “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!” Say’s the first witch ”All hail, Macbeth!

     The Three Witches are the ones who introduce the paradox that runs throughout the play. The theme affects these characters because although they speak of the future, they do not seem to affect the course of it. They are the agents of fate because they only speak of the truth of what will happen. Macbeth refers to the Witches as the Weird Sisters. In fact the word "Weird" comes from an old English word