Dagger Scene(Macbeth)
DAGGER SCENE
M acbeth is the only tragedy of Shakespeare in which the tragic hero turned villain but yet it retains the sympathy of the audience unto the very end. Even when Macbeth makes Scotland bleed as a result of his career of blood he does not entirely loose our sympathy, this feat of dramatic art has been achieved by Shakespeare by giving us a peep into his soul and thus showing to us his inner agony and spiritual torture, all throughout the play by the various soliloquies of Macbeth at different stages of murder and blood shed. Thus his soliloquies are windows through which we get a glimpse of Macbeth’s inner sufferings and realize that though a villain he may be but was a good person and heart which he fails to estimate due to the circumstances.
Dagger Scene is the second soliloquy of Macbeth which we see in Act 2 Sc 1 just before the murder of Duncan. He is hallucinating about the crime which he is going to commit which has almost turned into lechery. In this scene Macbeth sees a Phantom Dagger with which he is going to murder King Duncan. Just before his scene Macbeth had a brief conversation with Banquo on his way from the bed chamber of Duncan, a little after midnight he sent a servant to his wise Lady Macbeth to get a drink prepared by her and strike a bell when it is prepared. Just between the actual murder and the strike of the bell there is the Dagger Scene, when a phantom ‘Dagger’ shots up in front of Macbeth.
Macbeth tries to clutch the phantom dagger but couldn’t. Then he asks himself that whether this dagger is real or a mere creation of his heat oppressed mind “art thou not fatal vision sensible to felling as to sight? Or art thou, but a dagger of the mind of false creation”. The ‘Dagger’ was pointing towards the room chamber of Duncan where he was to go. He was unable to ascertain that whether it was doubt the evidence of his eyes or all other senses “none eyes are made the foul of other senses or else worth all the rest I see
M acbeth is the only tragedy of Shakespeare in which the tragic hero turned villain but yet it retains the sympathy of the audience unto the very end. Even when Macbeth makes Scotland bleed as a result of his career of blood he does not entirely loose our sympathy, this feat of dramatic art has been achieved by Shakespeare by giving us a peep into his soul and thus showing to us his inner agony and spiritual torture, all throughout the play by the various soliloquies of Macbeth at different stages of murder and blood shed. Thus his soliloquies are windows through which we get a glimpse of Macbeth’s inner sufferings and realize that though a villain he may be but was a good person and heart which he fails to estimate due to the circumstances.
Dagger Scene is the second soliloquy of Macbeth which we see in Act 2 Sc 1 just before the murder of Duncan. He is hallucinating about the crime which he is going to commit which has almost turned into lechery. In this scene Macbeth sees a Phantom Dagger with which he is going to murder King Duncan. Just before his scene Macbeth had a brief conversation with Banquo on his way from the bed chamber of Duncan, a little after midnight he sent a servant to his wise Lady Macbeth to get a drink prepared by her and strike a bell when it is prepared. Just between the actual murder and the strike of the bell there is the Dagger Scene, when a phantom ‘Dagger’ shots up in front of Macbeth.
Macbeth tries to clutch the phantom dagger but couldn’t. Then he asks himself that whether this dagger is real or a mere creation of his heat oppressed mind “art thou not fatal vision sensible to felling as to sight? Or art thou, but a dagger of the mind of false creation”. The ‘Dagger’ was pointing towards the room chamber of Duncan where he was to go. He was unable to ascertain that whether it was doubt the evidence of his eyes or all other senses “none eyes are made the foul of other senses or else worth all the rest I see