Macbeth & Julius Caesar

The use of dreams, ghosts, and portents in Macbeth and the use of dreams and portents in Julius Caesar play a crucial role in underscoring the themes of both of these plays by William Shakespeare. Macbeth is chock full of witches, ghosts, dreams and other portents. The witches open the play and warn that “fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1045). They arrange to meet on the health with Macbeth. When Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches they inform Macbeth he shall be Thane of Cawdor and king hereafter, while they inform Banquo he “shalt get kings, though thou be none” (1046-1047). Banquo is not sure the witches are real, thinking they may be apparitions or a product of the imagination. Macbeth wishes they would have stayed and seems affected by their prophecies, “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (1047).

Portents also play a major role in shaping the theme of Macbeth. When Duncan goes to bed, Macbeth thinks he sees a dagger before him with the handle toward his hand—a portent urging him to kill the king. A bell ringing is also taken by Macbeth as an invitation to kill the good king, “the bell invites me/Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell/That summons thee to heaven or to hell” (1051). Macbeth also thinks he hears a voice cry “Sleep no more!” which marks the beginning of his deteriorating condition. From this point on Macbeth will not have a peaceful moment during which he mig

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let them fly all: Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane I cannot taint with fear. What’s the boy Malcolm? Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know All mortal consequences have pronounc’d me thus,- Fear not, Macbeth; no man that’s born of woman Shall e’er have power upon thee.—Then fly, false thanes, And mingle with the English epicures: The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear, Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear. (1067) Thus, we see the ghosts instill fear in Macbeth, but the apparitions, portents and prophecies urge him on to his foul deeds with complete confidence that he cannot be harmed by Malcolm. This is, of course, not true. Malcolm and Macduff mount an army disguised as a forest in Birnam and move upon Dunsinane. Further, Macduff is not born of woman technically because he was delivered by Caesarian or, as the play reads, “Macduff was from his mother’s womb./Untimely ripp’d” (1069). Thus, Macbeth is similar to Julius Caesar in that both Macbeth and Caesar are overconfident in their own abilities. Macbeth gains this false sense of confidence because he misinterprets the prophecies and apparitions of the witches. Where Julius Caesar is concerned, he is brought to his own demise becaus
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Approximate Word count = 1619
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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