The rhythm is predominantly straightforward iambic pentameter, which makes it one of the easier speeches to illustrate the fundamentals of Shakespeare's versification.
The speech of 'Is this a dagger that I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee’ contains 11, not 10 syllables, and is to show Macbeth’s indecision, since the extra syllables throw off the rhythm.
Enhancing the ominous and eerie atmosphere of the speech is the use of successive allusions to people and practices which conjure up images of satanic and earthly evil. Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and a strong presence overall in Macbeth, is preparing her sacrificial victims, and Murder himself, summoned by his trusted watchman, the wolf, moves with the power and speed of evil king Tarquin towards his prey.
The speech of 'Is this a dagger that I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee’ contains 11, not 10 syllables, and is to show Macbeth’s indecision, since the extra syllables throw off the rhythm.
Enhancing the ominous and eerie atmosphere of the speech is the use of successive allusions to people and practices which conjure up images of satanic and earthly evil. Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and a strong presence overall in Macbeth, is preparing her sacrificial victims, and Murder himself, summoned by his trusted watchman, the wolf, moves with the power and speed of evil king Tarquin towards his prey.