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The Dagger Scene- Act II- Scene One of Macbeth
Question
Translate the following lines:
"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?"

1 Answer

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Answer:The detail of the dagger intensifies: he now sees (or thinks he can see) drops of blood on the blade and 'dudgeon' (the handle of the dagger).

Step-by-step explanation:

Shakespeare questions the sanity of his own senses when the dagger appears. He personifies his senses by insisting his eyes, much like his emotional state, are unbalanced. The imagery of the blood flooding out of the dagger represents the blood of Duncan and Macbeth's own gnawing guilt.

"Dagger of the mind" can read in two ways. First, there's the literal contrast of tangible reality and Macbeth's imagination. Second, you have metaphor of Macbeth's guilt—and doubt—manifesting itself aWhen he is about to kill Duncan, Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air. Covered with blood and pointed toward the king's chamber, the dagger represents the bloody course on which Macbeth is about to embark.s a vision as he waits upon the signal from his wife.

Macbeth speaks this famous soliloquy when he is taken over by his guilt and growing insanity for killing Duncan. His imagination brings forth the picture of a dagger in front of him, which symbolizes the impending murder. Macbeth has made his decision to kill the King and take the crown as his own.

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