People
Yea, noise? then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rest, and let me die.
— William Shakespeare
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The speaker reacts to a noise with sudden urgency, then addresses the dagger directly. Calling the body its sheath joins the wish for death to a stark physical metaphor. The contrast between happy and die makes the moment disturbing, giving a violent ending the language of welcome.
Context reviewed