Commentary on a Passage From William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Commentary on a Passage From William Shakespeare's Macbeth

This pivotal excerpt from Shakespeare's Macbeth presents several

elements that are crucial to the play as a whole. In this passage,

many major themes are portrayed, and additionally, a plethora of

literary devices are used to further strengthen the vivid images and

emotions Shakepeare aims to present to the audience. The extract also

serves as a culminating point in the play as it marks the beginning of

Macbeth's gradual downfall.

Within his castle in Dunsinane, Macbeth blusteringly orders that

banners be hung and boasts that his castle will successfully repel the

enemy. A woman's cry is heard and Seyton exits to investigate, leaving

Macbeth alone in the room to spew out his worries about the battle,

expressing that he has "almost forgot the taste of fears," yet having

as much fear as a man can bear. Seyton then re-enters to tell Macbeth

that the queen has died. Given the great love between Macbeth and Lady

Macbeth, his response is peculiarly muted, but it leads swiftly into a

speech of such pessimism and despair that the audience realizes how

completely his wife's passing and the ruin of his power have undone

Macbeth. He speaks numbly about the rapid passage of time, asserting

that there is no meaning in life, but rather, that life "is a tale,

told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

The scene presents to the audience a different side of Macbeth, the

side that is vulnerable to the insecurity that is so seldom shown

throughout the play. The beginning of the scene sees a self-assured

Macbeth, positive that his "castle's strength will laugh a siege...

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...ath had the

most impact on me. In the past scenes, the audience saw a side of

Macbeth that really cared for his wife, however as stated in a

previous paragraph, his response to her death in this extract is

strangely subdued. As the theme of fate was portrayed through

Macbeth's words, we see the gaffe Macbeth makes in being overconfident

in regard to the battle, subsequently muting his reaction to the death

of a loved one. However, the ambiguity of his emotions provokes

sympathy from the audience, and it made me realize that Macbeth is

just another human being, and that like everyone else, he cannot be

perfect all the time. As a person, Macbeth will always have the

ambition and determination that got him this far, but as King of

Scotland, this excerpt implied with enormous clarity that his reign

was soon to be over.