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Macbeth's Soliloquy Essay

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William Shakespeare’s tragedy play, Macbeth, shows how power can corrupt a person. Macbeth begins with him as a noble person, but after getting crowned king, he becomes paranoid and his whole outlook on life changes. In act 5 scene 5, after Macbeth learns of lady Macbeth’s death, he gives a soliloquy describing his current outlook on life. Through the soliloquy, Macbeth expresses his sadness and despair by talking about the meaninglessness of life. Macbeth first talks about his opinion at the beginning of the soliloquy when he talks about the speed of which time passes, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow/ creeps in this petty pace from day to day/ to the last syllable of recorded time,”(5.5.22-24). The repetition of the word ‘tomorrow’ puts emphasis on his awareness of …show more content…

By describing time as moving at a ‘petty pace from day to day’, Macbeth expresses his feelings of how time seems to make fun of him or punishing him for his decisions by taking everyone he cares for and continuing to move forward around him. Macbeth’s irrational feelings of time creeping up on him emphasize his feelings about time’s trickery and his awareness of his future demise. Another example of Macbeth’s opinion about the meaninglessness of life appears when he says 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” (5.5.28-30). Macbeth’s metaphors for life, the ‘walking shadow’ and the ‘poor player’ show the emptiness and uselessness of life. The “walking shadow’ shows the emptiness and dreariness of life, similar to how a shadow does not need a purpose and only becomes visible as darkness when the sun comes out but it still exists, even when invisible. This parallels how Macbeth currently lives in constant fear of losing his power as king or discovered as the murder of Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s

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In Macbeth’s speech in Act 5, Scene 5, he uses repetition to create a grim tone which mirrors the speech’s message surrounding the cyclical nature of life and time. This is seen when he repeats “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,” which illustrates the unfeeling passage of time that continues whether individuals are prepared or not (5.5.19). This also shows the cyclical nature of life and time because by repeating tomorrow shows similarity between the days. Instead of showing the progression of time through three unique phrases, Macbeth deliberately chooses to repeat tomorrow to show how one day comes just the same as the next in a cycle. This monotonous continuation of time also accuses ambition as being a vain human pursuit as, eventually,

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When he says, "I have lived long enough: my way of life is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf; and that which should accompany old age, as honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have" reflects the moment Macbeth realises that he has lost everything he once valued with his army has deserting him and every one close to him being dead. This is significant because at the time, loyalty to the monarch was considered a fundamental value, and a king who lost the support of his subjects was considered weak and unfit to rule. As Macbeth's paranoia and guilt overwhelm him, he begins to see ghosts and visions. The quote, "Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?

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Expressing life as a figure that “creeps in this petty pace”, Macbeth vocally suggests that life is too easy to get a grasp on. However, the word usage of “creeps” as if life is a person, an example of personification. Furthermore, Shakespeare shifts the tone from clinical to expectant for Macbeth’s attitude on life. “And all our yesterdays have lighted fools/ The way to dusty death.

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( Both individuals realize that time is moving on ) . Macbeth’s world comes crashing down when he hears of Lady Macbeth’s death and realizes the one thing he does not have is time. Macbeth is surrounded by an army while his wife passed away and he is vulnerable as he cannot do anything as everything hit him at once. As Macbeth delivers his soliloquy there is a heavy tone as he starts “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” ( Shakespeare V.V.19 ). The repetition signifies the emptiness he feels and presents the idea that each new day is just like the previous one and nothing will change as time moves forward.

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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.

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The “tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” speech is considerably well known from Macbeth, but sadly for dark reasons. “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” is one of many quotes that show a hopeless outlook on life. Macbeth has lived through difficult experiences through his life; murders, betrayal, and, most recently, the death of his wife. Macbeth learned seconds before giving this speech that his wife has committed suicide, which contributes an even larger sense of hollowness. Macbeth makes strongly morbid personifications to life; he essentially comments that all days creep by slowly and never fast enough, and still none of these days matter because the end result will always be death.

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This debate between the pity found in Macbeth’s mental state and the fear he evokes through his actions continues as Macbeth becomes a vicious tyrant. Not only does he kill off more of those around him, including the family of MacDuff, all for the sake of proving his power over those around him, but he rains famine and tragedy across the land. Macbeth’s inhumane actions easily draw fear from the audience as it expresses how uncontrollable and deranged, he has become; Macbeth is truly far from the hero first introduced. Extensively Macbeth begins to trust fewer and fewer individuals, he becomes more paranoid about the things going on around him. Specifically he can’t sleep and fears loosing his power.

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Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 5 Scene 5 after hearing about Lady Macbeth’s death acts as a reinstitution of Macbeth’s trace of humanity, he reflects upon his own actions and life itself. Macbeth’s melancholy lamentation over Lady Macbeth’s death reveals the disorientation of time caused by his actions. Although his desires are fulfilled, he realizes in the soliloquy that everything he has done is futile. In the soliloquy, Macbeth brought up the the idea of time.

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