hallucinations serve as reminders of Macbeth and his wife‘s responsibility for the growing death toll
the bloody dagger that Macbeth sees shortly before killing Duncan represents the bloody course that Macbeth will take by murdering the king
Banquo‘s ghost that is sitting on Macbeth‘s chair at the feast reminds Macbeth of the fact that he has killed his friend in his endeavour to become king
Lady Macbeth eventually starts sleepwalking and believes that her hands are covered in blood that can‘t be washed away with water
it is not clear whether those hallucinations are real; nevertheless, the hallucinations are signs of the guilt that the Macbeth‘s have imposed upon themselves
also, the hallucinations are the reason for Macbeth and his wife to slowly becoming insane
Violence
Macbeth as a violent play
action starts with a bloody battle in which Macbeth defeats the invaders
the story ends with a bloody battle in which Macbeth is beheaded by Macduff
in between, a lot of murders take place: King Duncan and his chamberlains are killed, Macbeth instructs some hired murderers to end Banquo‘s life, and the same fate befalls Lady Macduff and her son
Duncan‘s horses eat each other after Duncan‘s death
in the end, violence begets violence
Prophecies
the witches‘ prohecy sets the whole plot in motion as it predicts Macbeth‘s thaneship of Cawdor
almost all of the witches‘ prophecies come true in the play: only the prophecy about Banquo‘s heirs will be fulfilled after the play
it is argueable whether the prophecies are self-fulfilling
the prophecies are to be interpreted as riddles as they are not clear in their message
Banquo at one point warns Macbeth to be careful about those prophecies, yet Macbeth believes that he will never have to prepare for moving woods or someone not born of a woman
