Upon being informed of the tragic demise of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's mind is invaded by despondency and angst. The sheer drive behind the couple’s deceitful plan to rob the King of his life in hopes to secure their much-desired power was fate - a fate that had the illusion of immortality. Because of this intense reliance that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth developed, the death of the Queen pried the veil of timelessness from the mind of Macbeth and enforced a harsh and pessimistic reality. Although Shakespeare doesn’t reveal Lady Macbeth’s tragic fate, it is very clear to see how much it affected Macbeth’s view of life. The idea of authority and power generated this artificial light to the couple’s lives, shadowing their mindsets. Hitherto the death of Lady …show more content…
These wretched words show just how disturbed and pessimistic Macbeth grew when reality knocked on his door. It is evident that Macbeth’s words echo the themes of the drama as a whole. From the start to the end of the drama, it is a profound and philosophical exploration of the results of sin upon human life and its effects of degradation and suffering. It simply demonstrates a fearful reality and the temptation that evil-doing offers a human. Macbeth states that “life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, / that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, / and then is heard no more” (5.5.24-26). By saying this, Macbeth is demonstrating his pessimistic view on his purpose as well as the purpose of life in general. These cynical words portray a deep sense of worthlessness in Macbeth’s mind that penetrated him when his wife died. When the Weird Sisters first deceitfully told Macbeth his destiny, he and his wife saw their purpose in life being power. When Lady Macbeth suddenly passed in the midst of their fantasy, he described life as “a tale / told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / signifying nothing”