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This small part of Macbeth serves to illustrate the consequences and guilt of Macbeth’s murderous act. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language conveys to the reader how guilty Macbeth feels in that he will no longer sleep with the painful consequences of the guilt since now Macbeth won’t be have sleep to knit him back together for a new day from here on out. After every day, our sleep prepares ourselves for the next day in which we do what we care about. ” personification is used here to describe the way in which sleep is responsible for repairing us when we are worn out from living our life for another day. Line 54 states, “Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care.
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The voice cried, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep! Because Macbeth will have no more sleep as a result of his guilt, as it says in lines 59 and 60, he has “murdered sleep,” and that “Macbeth shall sleep no more,” he will miss out on the benefits of sleep which are said later in lines 53 – 56. Lines 51 and 52 describe to Macbeth the words of the crying voice he was hearing. Here, Shakespeare uses figurative language to show just how wicked Macbeth’s action was. Macbeth’s inability to verbalize the word “Amen” is a symbol of his depravity. By murdering Duncan, Macbeth has committed a mortal sin and is therefore separated from Holiness. Macbeth says he needs such a blessing most, but that he could not utter the word to receive one. ” Macbeth explains to Lady Macbeth that he cannot say, “Amen” along with the soldiers in prayer. Lines 43 – 44 and 46 – 48 state, “ I could not say ‘Amen! ’ / When they did say ‘God bless us! ’ / But wherefore could I not pronounce ‘Amen’? / I had most need of blessing, and ‘Amen! ’ / Stuck in my throat. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language here is to show Macbeth’s guilt and the conflict that still rages in his mind over murdering Duncan.
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A hangman, similarly, will execute someone regardless of what he or she has done to him. Despite the fact that Duncan was a good king in Macbeth’s eyes, he killed him. ” This is a metaphor in which Macbeth calls his hands the hands of a hangman because he believes what he has done is just like what a hangman does. In line 42, Macbeth exclaims to Lady Macbeth, “As they had seen me with these hangman’s hands. Macbeth only murdered Duncan after he succumbed to the pressure from Lady Macbeth to do the deed. Although Macbeth has just purposefully murdered Duncan, he feels incredible guilt over his actions because he believed Duncan was a good king. In Act, scene two, lines 33 – 60 of Macbeth, he uses a great amount of figurative language. This helps the reader, who is now able to obtain a much greater understanding of Shakespeare’s characters because of the use of figurative language.
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In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Shakespeare uses figurative language to more fully explain the thoughts and actions of his characters.
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