Macbeth 2.1. Dagger Scene Portrayal

Macbeth 2.1 Dagger Scene Portrayal

            In Macbeth Act 2 scene 1, I would portray the dagger as a delusion to Macbeth. I would portray the dagger as a delusion because Macbeth has gone insane. He proves his insanity when he says, “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still,” (2.1.35). He is hallucinating this dagger but he does not actually have it in his hand. Macbeth claims this dagger is leading him to murder King Duncan. Macbeth says, “Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going/ And such an instrument I was to use,” (2.1.42-43). He is saying that he is going to murder King Duncan with a blade just like the one he is imagining. Macbeth believes that the dagger is being shown as a symbol of the murder he is about to commit. Macbeth says, “It is the bloody business which informs/ Thus to mine eyes,” (2.1.48-49). I believe Macbeth sees the illusion of the dagger because it is a way of his conscious showing him the bloody dagger will soon be within your hands if you murder your King. Hence, that is why I would portray the dagger as an illusion to Macbeth in Act 2 scene 1.