Since the early 16th century, during the time of the Renaissance, William Shakespeare has amazed and captivated his audience for generations. His timeless plays and wonderful classics teach people all around the western world about love, romance, action, suspense, fear, and above all, the exploration of human nature. In one of Shakespeare's most popular works, The Tragedy of Macbeth, we experience a man's, Macbeth's, ultimate demise through desiring power. In Macbeth's final soliloquy, he utilizes several key literary devices to set the mood for the speech -- metaphor, personification, and symbols.
The first literary device, a metaphor, is said "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" (V,v, 24-28). In this line, Macbeth says that life is told that of a fool, and it is full of noise and emotions, but lacks any meaning. He uses this metaphor to set the mood by comparing life, something so full of worth and meaning and memory, to a cacophonous lump of insignificance, which expressed Macbeth's nihilism towards the end of the play.
…show more content…
Out, out, brief candle!" in line 22-23 (V,v, 22-23). In this line, the candle symbolizes life, and Macbeth wants it out. It also says that in everyday of life that fools live, they have only stepped that much closer to their deaths. He uses this symbol to set the mood by comparing life to a candle, and then wanting to blow it out, which would propose that Macbeth wants to die
In lines 17-23 the message conveyed is everyday is just another day closer to your death that is inevitable. This is shown by the repetition of tomorrow when Macbeth says “ tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.”(19) This shows the dread of going onto the next day because it will not lead to anything different. Macbeth also uses a cold tone that is conveyed when he says “ She should have died hereafter.”(17) This allows the audience to see how disconnected Macbeth is because Macbeth feels that everyone is similar and it doesn’t matter what happens. Finally, Shakespeare uses depressing diction to such as “petty”(20), “fools”(22) and “dusty.”(23) This shows how low Macbeth views life and people as a
To depict Macbeth’s changed attitude and personality Shakespeare uses strong connotation, imagery and allusion in the soliloquy.
Throughout the play “Macbeth” Shakespeare uses multiple examples of strong diction, paradox, metaphors, and imagery to demonstrate the theme that fate is inevitable. These examples also help emphasize that the witches are in control of Macbeth's severe and hostile actions throughout the tragic play. Without the witches prophecies the idea of murder would have never crossed Macbeth’s mind. After the witches informed Macbeth that he would soon become king he was willed to do anything to make sure this bizarre prophecy would come true.
The line “out, out, brief candle,” also uses symbolism through the burned out flame of the candle, representing Lady Macbeth’s finished life (5.5.23). By establishing the symbolic meaning of the candle Shakespeare produces a despondent tone of life slipping away from Macbeth, quickly lowering his hope of the prophecy and life. Next, the line “life’s but a walking shadow,” uses symbolism to represent how the dreadful in life is creeping upon the Macbeths (5.5.24). The candle represents life, the flame stands for the good, and the shadow represents the bad. The walking shadow represents the evil creeping upon and slowly taking over Macbeth. By using the candle as a symbol for life it demonstrates how Macbeth’s life is becoming darker, with no real meaning anymore. This outcome is due to unchecked ambition and greed for more out of life, leading to nothing. The use of symbolism is affective to the audience by comparing a common occurance to a serious situation, making it easier to comprehend, but also allows for another level of analyzation of how Macbeth’s life is becoming ominous due to his
This brief soliloquy, spoken by Macbeth, comes at a time right after he has received news that Lady Macbeth has committed suicide after finally falling to her guilt of her involvement in Duncan’s murder. Macbeth also learned at the same time that Macduff and other Scottish armies are marching towards upheaval of his reign on the throne. After initial doubts to the witches’ newest prophesies for his future, Macbeth’s character shows to the audience that he realizes what they say is coming true. The stress of the surrounding armies and impending doom is shown when he states that the candle is brief, thus his time remaining as king are short and likely soon to be dark, such as a blown out candle. He also compares his life and what potentially
Man 's natural ambition is to thrive and achieve power. This ambition tends to be realized through wealth, relationships, social class, or faith. Ultimately, the goal to succeed is simply reflective of the underlying desire to justify one 's existence. Without justification, life becomes meaningless and one becomes numb to the world that surrounds. This numbness is what depresses humans of essential emotions and commonly leads to suicide. In Act V., Scene V., lines 20-31, Macbeth 's final soliloquy is a tragic concession to the insignificance of his own existence. However, he surrenders only after a rigorous pursuit for happiness and stability. This powerful passage has a very important structural and stylistic aspect that, in a sense,
The value and impact of human life is a topic explored many times in Shakespearian works, and is put to words especially memorably in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, during which Macbeth delivers a soliloquy on the meaninglessness of human life. He compares life to a “brief candle” (V.v.24), and decides that the time of death is irrelevant since we must all eventually pass. This soliloquy is essential to the understanding of Macbeth’s inner thoughts on spiritual and moral matters, as is its communication. The tone and presentation allows the audience to feel Macbeth’s sense of hopelessness, anger and self-justification. Through his final soliloquy certain stylistic choices are made by Shakespeare to draw attention to both the futility
Macbeths soliloquy is “to be thus is nothing, but be safely thus”. It contributes to the story because it reveals new information that he is nervous to be king. he is worried that he is not safe because of what he has done to the previous king. He is especially scared of Banquo because of what the witches told him. Yes, it is what I expected the character to be thinking because right after he killed the king he was very paranoid. The soliloquy is about himself.
During the early modern period, a time set between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution, William Shakespeare began as an English playwright and later created a name for himself through his intriguing stories. Shakespeare, having unmatched style and abilities, has written some of the best literary works ever to have been written. But something unique about his writing includes his timeless ability to relate to modern times. The proof of this comes from the reinterpretation of his plays. Shakespeare’s written performance has traveled through time and been able to appeal to the modern audience. Believed to be written in 1606, Shakespeare composed such a story, Macbeth, one of his darkest and most powerful works. With the story set in Scotland, the play depicts the physical and mental effects produced
It is him reflecting upon the situation before him. The first thing he says is “She would have died later anyway” (Shakespeare, 67). This is a man who has truly given up. He looks at how destitute his situation is and gives a defeated statement. This gives us an insight as to how Macbeth is feeling which is a sad and defeated man.
Shakespeare uses language in his literary creations as a technique to enrich the ideas of his works. In his play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses metaphor as a useful way to enhance language and construct the overall idea. Macbeth revolves around the prospect of ‘power,’ and also focuses on what one is willing to do in order to gain power, and also to maintain it. Throughout the novel, Shakespeare uses metaphors and comparative techniques that link together to develop the idea of achieving and preserving power. The play centers around a nobleman named Macbeth who is guaranteed powerful titles of “King of Scotland” and “Thane of Cawdor” by three witches, one of which soon comes true (Thane of Cawdor). This fulfillment serves as a mental stimulus that triggers a necessity to be king within Macbeth. Shakespeare scatters useful language throughout the play which is crucial in the character development of Macbeth and also serves as a basis for the development of the idea of ‘power.’
Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the most famous passage is Macbeth’s soliloquy after Lady Macbeth commits suicide. The scene is very intense for Macbeth, because England’s forces are advancing on his castle, his wife killed herself, and he just witnessed one of the witches’ predictions about his death starting to come true. This passage is a very moving part of the play because it reflects Macbeth’s view of his approaching death by summarizing the play by referring to past events, creating woeful mood through its imagery, and developing the theme of time.
The play ‘Macbeth’ uses soliloquies with great effect to express the thoughts of individual characters, particularly in the case of the protagonist, Macbeth. In Act V Scene V, strong words from Macbeth convey to the reader two themes of the play. This soliloquy demonstrates the play's use of irony and the use of the disparity between the great opposition of light and darkness as symbols for both life and death. This soliloquy is quite significant to the play as a whole since it demonstrates two very important themes as well as leading to a better understanding of Macbeth.
In the first Act of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, Shakespeare constructs the principal themes of the play, through the use of dialogue provided by his characters. Through the use of this dialogue, Shakespeare also sets the framework for the plot and introduces the main characters to the reader. Themes used by Shakespeare to convey these ideas are, Appearance vs. Reality, betrayal, and lastly, darkness. On the foundation of these themes, Shakespeare provides a clear contextual understanding of the plot, main characters and their motivations to the reader.