After murdering Duncan, Macbeth becomes strangled with thoughts that Banquo’s children will overthrow his rule. As a result, Macbeth persuades two farmers to kill Banquo and his son in order to eliminate all possible threats shown in the prophecy. Then, he takes it upon himself to plot the right time to take Banquo out by inviting Banquo to his coronation and asks for details on Banquo’s whereabouts. While speaking with Lady Macbeth about his worries in maintaining his power, he states that no matter how hard he tries to eradicate the menaces, he will never be able to feel happy. Consequently, he is jealous that Duncan, the previous ruler that he killed, is living in a better condition than he is as he is not subject to any threats. In Act 3 Scene 2, Shakespeare uses diction, imagery, symbolism, and the motif of sleep to display Macbeth’s guilt and its effect on the mind.
Shakespeare begins the speech with diction and the symbolism of a snake to express …show more content…
On one side, Macbeth “sleeps in the affliction” of “dreams that shake [him] nightly” (3.2.20–22). Simultaneously, “after life’s fitful fever” Duncan sleeps well (3.2.26) and his is in “restless ecstasy” (3.2.25). Shakespeare’s word choice of “restless ecstasy” means the leaving of the soul in the body or in this case, going insane. It can be seen here that Duncan rests in peace because he has nothing to be guilty of. The oxymoron of indefinite happiness shows that although Macbeth has everything he wanted, he is not happy. He loses his soul due to the burden of guilt from murdering Duncan. Eventually, the guilt transforms into paranoia and we can see Macbeth’s mental health slowly deteriorate because of the guilt. After killing Duncan in his sleep, Macbeth finds himself hating Duncan even more because he is not able to have peace that he desires, unlike
Shakespeare begins the speech with diction and the symbolism of a snake to express …show more content…
On one side, Macbeth “sleeps in the affliction” of “dreams that shake [him] nightly” (3.2.20–22). Simultaneously, “after life’s fitful fever” Duncan sleeps well (3.2.26) and his is in “restless ecstasy” (3.2.25). Shakespeare’s word choice of “restless ecstasy” means the leaving of the soul in the body or in this case, going insane. It can be seen here that Duncan rests in peace because he has nothing to be guilty of. The oxymoron of indefinite happiness shows that although Macbeth has everything he wanted, he is not happy. He loses his soul due to the burden of guilt from murdering Duncan. Eventually, the guilt transforms into paranoia and we can see Macbeth’s mental health slowly deteriorate because of the guilt. After killing Duncan in his sleep, Macbeth finds himself hating Duncan even more because he is not able to have peace that he desires, unlike