“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”
(5, 5, 23-27). Macbeth states this after he learns that his wife has just died. He is in distress because of the loss of his wife this makes him think that life is meaningless. Shakespeare 's Macbeth is set in medieval Scotland. It starts with three witches proficing Macbeth 's life they tell him that he is going to be Thane of Cawdor then King and that Banquo would father a line of kings. When Macbeth actually becomes Thane of Cawdor he is scared how he is going to become king. Macbeth kills King Duncan then takes the place as the king. Banquo becomes
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Macduff does not want Macbeth to be king so he leaves scotland to create an army. Macduff 's absence makes Macbeth angry so he kills Macduff 's family and everyone in Macduff 's castle. After that Macduff 's army starts heading towards Macbeth 's castle to kill him. Lady Macbeth is going crazy because of all the killing that her husband has been doing and she has gone so crazy that she has gotten to the point where she kills herself. This is the point where Macbeth says “Life’s but a walking shadow...” He says this because he just lost the love of his life and he does not know how to handle it. After this Macduff 's army attacks and in the end Macduff kills Macbeth and Malcolm becomes king. The Main characters in Macbeth are: Macbeth, Lady macbeth, King Duncan, Banquo, Macduff, and the three witches. Macbeth says “...Life 's but a walking shadow...signifying nothing…” This suggests that life is meaningless but it is not. When Macbeth states this he is mourning the loss of his wife, also …show more content…
Another way to see that the play does not represent that there is no meaning to life is to look at the characters that represent hope. Macduff has just killed King Duncan and he is rejoicing that Malcolm can be the rightful king now “Hail, king! For so thou art. Behold where stands the usurper’s cursèd head. The time is free.I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s pearl, that speak my salutation in their minds, whose voices I desire aloud with mine. Hail, King of Scotland!” (5,9,21-26). Malcolm is with Macduff 's army and they are getting ready for battle when Malcolm asks “Now near enough. Your leafy screens throw down, and show like those you are you, worthy uncle, shall, with my cousin, your right-noble son, lead our first battle. Worthy Macduff and we shall take upon ’s what else remains to do, according to our order” (5,6,1-6). Lennox has just seen how crazy Macbeth has gone and now he thinks Macbeth is the one that has killed Banquo and is talking to one of the other lords and says “...And the right-valiant Banquo walked too late, whom, you may say, if ’t please you, Fleance killed, for Fleance fled. Men must not walk too late…” (3,6,5-7). These show that there is still lots of meaning in life. They are all hoping for the future and waiting for a better time for everyone in their country. In the first quote the one spoken by Macduff he has given sleep back to everyone because they do not have to worry about Macbeth killing them anymore. In the second quote