"I see thee still, / And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood"
Macbeth makes yet another address to the dagger, this time signifying the darker turn that the imagery of the speech will take. "I see thee still" is potent because of both its repetition and the caesura (a natural pause or break in a line) following "or else worth all the rest". The straight iambic rhythm and mostly monosyllabic construction of the line from "and on thy blade" helps to speed the pace. You can imagine Macbeth's heartbeat quickening here as blood suddenly appears on the dagger. Dudgeon refers to the handle of the dagger; gouts means large drops or splashes.
Macbeth makes yet another address to the dagger, this time signifying the darker turn that the imagery of the speech will take. "I see thee still" is potent because of both its repetition and the caesura (a natural pause or break in a line) following "or else worth all the rest". The straight iambic rhythm and mostly monosyllabic construction of the line from "and on thy blade" helps to speed the pace. You can imagine Macbeth's heartbeat quickening here as blood suddenly appears on the dagger. Dudgeon refers to the handle of the dagger; gouts means large drops or splashes.