Question

read the excerpt from act 3, scene 4 of the tragedy of macbeth. lady macbeth attempts to redirect macbeth after he sees banquos ghost.
lady macbeth. privately, to macbeth. are you a man?
macbeth. ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that which might appal the devil.
lady macbeth. o proper stuff!
this is the very painting of your fear;
this is the air - drawn dagger which, you said,
led you to duncan.
what does lady macbeth mean by the line \this is the very painting of your fear\?
macbeth tends to hallucinate when troubled rather than seeing what is real.
macbeth creates paintings as a means of relieving his anxieties and fears.
macbeth again sees a ghostly dagger beckoning him to commit murder.
macbeth has an overactive imagination that negatively affects his work.

Explanation:

Lady Macbeth refers to Macbeth's hallucination of Banquo's ghost. She compares it to the "air - drawn dagger" he saw before killing Duncan. This shows she thinks Macbeth hallucinates when troubled.

Answer:

Macbeth tends to hallucinate when troubled rather than seeing what is real.