Essays" introduces De Quincey's exploration of the significance of the "knocking at the gate" in Shakespeare's Macbeth. He reflects on his childhood perplexity regarding this moment after Duncan's murder, expressing a deep emotional response that he felt could not be rationally explained. De Quincey emphasizes the importance of intuition over mere understanding, illustrating how art can evoke profound feelings that transcend logic. He draws a compelling connection between Shakespeare's portrayal of murder and the psychological tension it generates, ultimately setting the stage for his subsequent discussions on the aesthetics of murder in literature as an art form. The tone oscillates between scholarly analysis and personal reflection, inviting readers to engage with both the emotional and intellectual dimensions of the subjects at hand. (This is an automatically generated summary.)