ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -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.

Detailed explanation-2: -Few visual moments are as strange as the scene at the beginning of act two, in which Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air, apparently leading him to Duncan’s bedchamber. This hallucination provokes one of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches: “Is this a dagger which I see before me?” The scene is pivotal.

Detailed explanation-3: -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).

Detailed explanation-4: -Left alone by Banquo, Macbeth sees a gory dagger leading him to Duncan’s room. Hearing the bell rung by Lady Macbeth to signal completion of her preparations for Duncan’s death, Macbeth exits to kill the king. Enter Banquo, and Fleance with a torch before him.

Detailed explanation-5: -Alone, as he goes towards Duncan’s chambers to murder the king, Macbeth sees a vision of a bloody dagger. He dismisses the vision, saying that it is the ‘bloody business’ that is causing him to hallucinate. He hears a bell and goes to kill Duncan.