Examples Of Hallucinations In Macbeth

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During times of emotional and mental strain, the mind can be tricked into seeing things that are not actually a reality. The brain, under stress, can cause a person to experience visions and situations that seem horrific or dangerous, but are only created through the person’s mind. In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth experiences major visions and hallucinations, which affect his judgement of the situations that he’s going through, as well as the plot of the play. These hallucinations always seem to come to him during times when he is in despair about choices that he has to make. The visions that Macbeth sees reveal his state of mind as well as show certain thought processes that he is having, and how he’s completely focused on the issues at hand. …show more content…

Immediately preceding the murder, Macbeth has an important vision of a dagger, bloody and ready to be grasped. He is unsure whether or not the dagger is real; he asks “art thou not, fatal vision, sensible, to feeling as to sight?” wondering if the dagger is a physical object, or an amalgamation of his worries and fears about assassinating Duncan (II.i.37-38). Macbeth also states that he is ready to murder, following this vision- his hallucination of the dagger’s handle facing towards him gave him the sense that he was actually prepared to kill Duncan. Later in the play, he has visions of three apparitions, after speaking to the witches. These "ghosts" speak to him about things that he fears, as well as things that he is trying to ready himself for. The first apparition, a head with a helmet, represents his fear of Macduff. The second apparition, a bloody child, tells him to “laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth;” dispelling his fears about Macduff, and assuring him that he is safe from the man as Macduff was born from a woman

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