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A number of times in Macbeth, Macbeth sees or hears strange things: the floating dagger, the voice that says he's murdering sleep, and Banquo's ghost. As Macbeth himself wonders about the dagger, are these sights and sounds supernatural visions or figments of his guilty imagination? The play contains no definitive answer, which is itself a kind of answer: they're both. Macbeth is a man at war with himself, his innate honor battling his ambition. Just as nature goes haywire when the normal natural order is ruptured, Macbeth's own mind does the same when it is forced to fight against itself.
Visions and Hallucinations Quotes in Macbeth
The Macbeth quotes below all refer to the symbol of Visions and Hallucinations. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, scene 1
Quotes
Fair is foul, and foul is fair;
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
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Act 2, scene 1
Quotes
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee;
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
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?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee;
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
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?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Macbeth LitChart as a printable PDF.
Visions and Hallucinations Symbol Timeline in Macbeth
The timeline below shows where the symbol Visions and Hallucinations appears in Macbeth. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 2, scene 1
Alone, Macbeth sees a bloody dagger floating in the air. He can't grasp it, and can't decide whether it's a phantom...
(full context)
Act 3, scene 4
...seat at the table. When Lennox gestures at a seat, saying it's empty, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost sitting there. Macbeth alone can see the ghost. He astonishes the thanes by shouting at...
(full context)
The ghost reappears and Macbeth, terrified, starts shouting at it. Lady Macbeth tries to play down her husband's...
(full context)
