Macbeth Group

Question:

michelle-telford
michelle-tel...
Student
High School - 12th Grade

To what does Macbeth compare the dagger's of Duncan's 2 guards, and what does he mean by this comparasin (ie, how is it fitting?).

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Posted by michelle-telford on Monday April 6, 2009 at 4:11 PM and tagged with daggers, guards, macbeth.

Answers:


  1. kc4u Teacher
    College - Senior

    eNotes Editor

    In Act 2 Sc 3, after the discovery of Duncan's murder, Macbeth and Lennox visit the king's bed-chamber. On his re-entry with Lennox and Ross, Macbeth recalls the scene of murder.It is here that he refers to the naked, blood-covered daggers of the guards as "unmannerly breech'd with gore", i.e.dressed indecently in blood. The proper, decent dress for a dagger would be a sheath; but these daggers wore improper & indecent breeches of blood. Men wear proper breeches to look decent, but the chamberlains' daggers, sheathless and dressed in blood shocked all decency. Macbeth's affected artificiality is indicative of his hypocrisy.

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    Posted by kc4u on Wednesday April 8, 2009 at 12:11 PM