In this essay I will be exploring the development/deterioration of Macbeth’s character through act 2 scene 1 and 2. I will explore areas such as relationships with other characters, Macbeth’s mental stability, confusion which is caused by Macbeth’s situation and how it affects him.
At the start of the soliloquy in act 2 scene 1 Macbeth’s character seems mesmerised and confused by the sight of the dagger. ‘Is this a dagger I see before me, the handle toward my hand’. You can tell that Macbeth is confused from the words he uses. For example, ‘is’. ‘Is’ makes it seem as if he is not sure whether the dagger is real or not, it represents uncertainty. This is also supported by ‘I have thee not, but I see thee still’, which also represents confusion. There is also another instance where Macbeth seems confused later on in the soliloquy line 44, “Mine eyes are made fools of the other senses” when Macbeth says this he means basically do my eyes deceive me. Macbeth now begins to realise that he is hallucinating because he has tried to touch the dagger but his hand has gone straight through so he now wonders if his eyes are “deceiving” (confusing him). I think that it is this confusion that leads Macbeth too kill King Duncan, because Macbeth cannot see another way. “A bell rings. I go and it is done. The bell invites me.” I believe Macbeth is so confused he starts taking thing’s that happen for signs: the dagger, the bell. Also I believe that the confusion we see transforms into the nervousness we see after Macbeth has killed Duncan. “Knocking within. Whence is that knocking? How is’t with me every noise appals me? What hands are here?” because Macbeth was confused when he committed the murder of Duncan he hadn’t planned on what he was going to do afterwards.
