Theme In Macbeth's Final Speech 
Carol Nelson
Mrs. Mitchell
Contemporary Drama
February 13, 2015
Macbeth Literary Analysis World acclaimed author, William Shakespeare depicts the tale that ambitious corruption leads to self-destruction in his play “Macbeth”. Main character Macbeth who through supernatural trickery that aggregates his own ambition to be king of Scotland, ultimately leads to his final demise. Shakespeare gives clues throughout the entire story of what the theme of the story is supposed to represent. The theme of, the corrupting power of unchecked ambition, can be specifically seen in Macbeths speech in Act 5, Scene 5. In this speech Shakespeare uses the dialogue to support the theme by showing Macbeths bleak outlook on the rest of his life, the realization that all that Macbeth had known was not entirely truth and Macbeth’s reflection on what could have been.
As Shakespeare advances Macbeth’s metal deterioration, Macbeth grows wearier, with the weight of the burden of regret, towards life in general. In his speech of the final act of the play, after his wife’s death is proclaimed, Macbeth gains a new perception, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/ that struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ and then is heard no more” (Act 5, Scene 5). The meaning of this line is that life builds itself up, only to throw itself away and never be heard of again. Due to Macbeth’s unchecked ambition, his entire outlook on the basis of what life means, is completely destroyed. At the pinnacle of Macbeths desolation, Shakespeare also has Macbeth compare life to “a tale/ told by an idiot, full of sound and fury/ signifying nothing” (Act 5, Scene 5). After Macbeth has let his ambition to cause the treacherous murder of his closest friends and king, his once unquenched thirst for success, has led to a personal revelation that life is meaningless. Macbeth’s untamed ambition makes him feel his life is unbearable and insignificant, compared to the tremendous success he had once seen for himself
Mrs. Mitchell
Contemporary Drama
February 13, 2015
Macbeth Literary Analysis World acclaimed author, William Shakespeare depicts the tale that ambitious corruption leads to self-destruction in his play “Macbeth”. Main character Macbeth who through supernatural trickery that aggregates his own ambition to be king of Scotland, ultimately leads to his final demise. Shakespeare gives clues throughout the entire story of what the theme of the story is supposed to represent. The theme of, the corrupting power of unchecked ambition, can be specifically seen in Macbeths speech in Act 5, Scene 5. In this speech Shakespeare uses the dialogue to support the theme by showing Macbeths bleak outlook on the rest of his life, the realization that all that Macbeth had known was not entirely truth and Macbeth’s reflection on what could have been.
As Shakespeare advances Macbeth’s metal deterioration, Macbeth grows wearier, with the weight of the burden of regret, towards life in general. In his speech of the final act of the play, after his wife’s death is proclaimed, Macbeth gains a new perception, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/ that struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ and then is heard no more” (Act 5, Scene 5). The meaning of this line is that life builds itself up, only to throw itself away and never be heard of again. Due to Macbeth’s unchecked ambition, his entire outlook on the basis of what life means, is completely destroyed. At the pinnacle of Macbeths desolation, Shakespeare also has Macbeth compare life to “a tale/ told by an idiot, full of sound and fury/ signifying nothing” (Act 5, Scene 5). After Macbeth has let his ambition to cause the treacherous murder of his closest friends and king, his once unquenched thirst for success, has led to a personal revelation that life is meaningless. Macbeth’s untamed ambition makes him feel his life is unbearable and insignificant, compared to the tremendous success he had once seen for himself