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One of these has already been quoted, where Macbeth's wife tells him that he is brainsickly. But even a few lines before this it is mentioned. Macbeth becomes concerned that he couldn't say "Amen" to another mans prayer, and his wife comments that dwelling on it will cause insanity. (II 2, ll. 30-38) Macbeth had been dwelling on it, however, and continues to rant about other things for the remainder of the scene.
Later, shortly before sending men to murder Banquo, Macbeth tells his wife that he is having "terrible dreams." (III 2) He mentions that his paranoia and fear have grown so bad as a result that he believes he would be better off dead, where he would at least have peace. She brushes him off, claiming that Banquo's death will give him the peace he seeks. He replies that his mind is "full of scorpions" which carries an important double meaning. First, that his mind is treacherous and violent, as a scorpion. But secondly, scorpions are venomous, so the reference is again speaking of his poisoned and sickly …show more content…
But taken together, they begin to paint a picture of a man who is not entirely stable and is perfectly capable of seeing things that aren't there and scaring himself. His wife is apparently slipping too, although she seems to go all at once, whereas his slide from sanity is gradual, and soon after this event, overcome.
Another key point in demonstrating that the ghost which appears to Macbeth is indeed his imagination is looking at the way in which other Shakespearean ghosts are handled. The most famous of these is Hamlet's father. This ghost was witnessed by all those who saw it, not just the one for whom it was meant. Indeed, the first people to see it are the ones who brought Hamlet to it, so that it could deliver its message. It told Hamlet about its murder, and charged him to avenge his death.
Another ghost is found in Julius Caesar, act IV scene 3. Julius Caesar appears to his murderer Brutus and tells him that they will meet at Phillipi, where he indeed does appear, but the second appearance is not staged. The only other people on stage are all sleeping, so no one witnesses the ghost except Brutus, but again, a message is …show more content…
First, the ghost is visible to him and him alone. In other cases, the ghost was either visible to all, as in Hamlet, or all witnesses are removed from stage or put to sleep. This suggests that they would have seen them had they been there and aware. The second major difference is that Banquo's ghost remains absolutely silent. Each of the ghosts from Shakespeare's other works relays a message. Banquo's ghost also leaves a returns again, in the same manner. Obviously, the goal is to scare Macbeth, but the same was the goal of the ghosts from Richard III and Julius Caesar. Caesar's ghost spoke little, admittedly, and the message was trivial at best. But the fact is that there was a message, which sets a very distinct pattern for how Shakespeare uses ghost. Since Macbeth's ghost fails to deliver any message at all, and since it breaks the norm and is only seen by him, we can conclude that Shakespeare did not think of this as an actual ghost, but as a sign of Macbeth's guilt haunting
Later, shortly before sending men to murder Banquo, Macbeth tells his wife that he is having "terrible dreams." (III 2) He mentions that his paranoia and fear have grown so bad as a result that he believes he would be better off dead, where he would at least have peace. She brushes him off, claiming that Banquo's death will give him the peace he seeks. He replies that his mind is "full of scorpions" which carries an important double meaning. First, that his mind is treacherous and violent, as a scorpion. But secondly, scorpions are venomous, so the reference is again speaking of his poisoned and sickly …show more content…
But taken together, they begin to paint a picture of a man who is not entirely stable and is perfectly capable of seeing things that aren't there and scaring himself. His wife is apparently slipping too, although she seems to go all at once, whereas his slide from sanity is gradual, and soon after this event, overcome.
Another key point in demonstrating that the ghost which appears to Macbeth is indeed his imagination is looking at the way in which other Shakespearean ghosts are handled. The most famous of these is Hamlet's father. This ghost was witnessed by all those who saw it, not just the one for whom it was meant. Indeed, the first people to see it are the ones who brought Hamlet to it, so that it could deliver its message. It told Hamlet about its murder, and charged him to avenge his death.
Another ghost is found in Julius Caesar, act IV scene 3. Julius Caesar appears to his murderer Brutus and tells him that they will meet at Phillipi, where he indeed does appear, but the second appearance is not staged. The only other people on stage are all sleeping, so no one witnesses the ghost except Brutus, but again, a message is …show more content…
First, the ghost is visible to him and him alone. In other cases, the ghost was either visible to all, as in Hamlet, or all witnesses are removed from stage or put to sleep. This suggests that they would have seen them had they been there and aware. The second major difference is that Banquo's ghost remains absolutely silent. Each of the ghosts from Shakespeare's other works relays a message. Banquo's ghost also leaves a returns again, in the same manner. Obviously, the goal is to scare Macbeth, but the same was the goal of the ghosts from Richard III and Julius Caesar. Caesar's ghost spoke little, admittedly, and the message was trivial at best. But the fact is that there was a message, which sets a very distinct pattern for how Shakespeare uses ghost. Since Macbeth's ghost fails to deliver any message at all, and since it breaks the norm and is only seen by him, we can conclude that Shakespeare did not think of this as an actual ghost, but as a sign of Macbeth's guilt haunting