Excerpt 1: Read the excerpt from act 2, scene 1 of
The Tragedy of Macbeth. Macbeth, who is about to
murder Duncan, imagines that he sees a dagger
floating in front of him.
[Macbeth.] 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. [Pulls out his dagger]
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Excerpt 2: Read the excerpt from act 3, scene 4 of
The Tragedy of Macbeth. Macbeth has seen the ghost
How does the universal theme "the tension between
truth and illusion" relate to the universal theme "the
consuming power of guilt" in these excerpts?
O Guilt allows Macbeth to understand the difference
between reality and illusion.
O Guilt makes it difficult for Macbeth to distinguish
between reality and illusion.
O Macbeth's illusions help release him from his
overwhelming feelings of guilt.
O Macbeth's illusions force him to consider the
realities that have caused his guilt.