Macbeth
why does macbeth refer to the dagger as 'fatal vision"?
this question is from play MacBeth Act II
this question is from play MacBeth Act II
In Act II scene I Macbeth has a vision whereby he sees a dagger floating in mid-air, which points towards the chamber of Duncan.
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
The dagger is a fatal vision as it foreshadows the death of Duncan at the hands of Macbeth that night, and also Duncan's two servants. The dagger is also a 'fatal vision' as it leads to the deaths of many others, including Macbeth himself.
'Macbeth' William Shakespeare