Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5 Analysis

Shakespeare, in his tragedy, “Macbeth,” illustrates an intriguing narrative in which a man named Macbeth receives equivocations from witches telling him that he will become the king, sending him spiraling down a path of madness and bloodshed. Shakespeare's purpose is to relay the ideas that unchecked ambition leads to a person’s downfall and to elaborate on the vanity of human ambition through the actions of the characters. In act 5, scene 5, he assumes a somber tone through the utilization of alliteration and symbolism in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in his Elizabethan audience. In Macbeth’s speech from Act V, scene 5, Shakespeare evokes a bleak tone through the use of alliteration which exemplifies the theme of the

The application of alliteration in this line emphasizes the way in which time marches on the same way everyday, expounding on the notion that living is a monotonous repetition of the same things forever. This establishes a grave tone that reflects the despondency of reality, as life being a boring repeat of itself that continues into eternity is a thought that contrasts with the audiences ideas that life has an innate meaning. Moreover, Macbeth further explicates his views, declaring life as “a poor player” on a stage who disappears after a gaudy hour of performance (5.5.24-26). The emphasis brought on by the alliteration in this line conveys the worthlessness and insignificance of the actor, who creates illusions through dramatization but is ultimately forgotten. This elicits a melancholy tone in that living is painted as being unimportant and, although providing the illusion of meaning, is disregarded once it comes to a conclusion, conveying to the audience that that their actions have no significance. Furthermore, this contributes to the theme that human actions are both vain and futile in that the alliteration highlights the tedium of everyday life as well as its subsequent termination in nothingness, asserting the fact that regardless of