Dreams, ghosts, and portents in Macbeth and 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 might “knit up the ravell’d sleeve of care” (1052). A little later in the action, the ascension of Macbeth to the throne makes Banquo wonder if the weird apparitions were not in fact truthful, “Why, by the verities on thee made good,/May they not be my oracles as well,/And set me up in hope? But, hush; no more” (1055).
During the banquet scene in Act III, Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo whom he has hired murderers to kill. This additional ...