Macbeth Quote Analysis

Hearing the bell his wife has rung as the signal, Macbeth declares he's ready to act. He addresses the sleeping Duncan, telling him not to hear the bell because it marks his death.

The shift to present tense—'I go, and it is done'—collapses intention and action into a single moment, as if speaking the words completes the act. By calling the bell a 'knell' (a funeral bell), Macbeth scripts Duncan's death as already accomplished, using language to make the murder feel like a fait accompli and avoid the agony of actually deciding.

Use this to argue that Macbeth uses language as a substitute for resolve—he narrates himself into the murder rather than choosing it outright, showing how he's directing his own tragedy while pretending to be swept along by it.