Question

What is the symbolic significance of the dagger in the following excerpt from MacBeth--" Is that a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me cluth thee. I have thee not, and yet I see these still. Are thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation proceeding but from the heat-oppressed brain?" My thought is the symbolic significance is that Macbeth feels torn between guilt and temptation about the murder of Duncan. I do not think that Macbeth has had a psychotic break or is eager to carry out his plot against Duncan or wonders if the dagger is real.

Answer 1

I have not read Macbeth. Please use http://nfs.sparknotes.com/macbeth/ to read the section you need in modern-day English.