Compare And Contrast I Worried And Macbeth

There’s a 100mL glass filled with 50mL of water. The question is: is the glass half-full, or half-empty? In reality, there is no “correct answer,” as both are true statements and observations of what is happening. However, there is one key difference: perspective. In Mary Oliver’s “I Worried,” and Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act V, Scene v of “Macbeth,” the two speakers both realize the futility of life and decide how they are going to move forward with the newfound realization. They react to this new understanding differently, taking on different perspectives. Macbeth takes on a more pessimistic side and decides that his life no longer has value, while in contrast, Oliver has a more optimistic take, using the fact that nothing matters, to relieve

After receiving the news of Lady Macbeth’s death, Macbeth suddenly has a new perspective on life, even calling it a “walking shadow” (Shakespeare, V, v, 27). The comparison of life to the substanceless object of a shadow illuminates Macbteth’s new feelings for life. He considers it to be something with no meaning, and something no one has true control over, as shadows are simply moved, and never the ones leading movement. Similarly, Oliver also has a bleak realization of what life means to her, realizing that all she does is worry and “worrying [comes] to nothing” (Oliver, 13). She too realizes that she in fact has no control over what goes on in her life, and her constant worrying does her no favor, as it has no impact. Oliver understands that her actions do not greatly affect the way her life will inevitably play out, similar to how Macbeth realizes he too lacks control over his life—his meaningless life. Not everything is in human control, and in Macbeth’s soliloquy and Oliver’s poem, the two realize