Soliloquies In Macbeth

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In many plays, including Shakespeare’s Macbeth, when a character speaks one’s thoughts alone on stage, they are speaking in a soliloquy. William Shakespeare often uses literary devices such as soliloquies in his plays, and they are especially prevalent in Macbeth. Soliloquies are used throughout a play to reveal the characters’ thoughts and feelings. Soliloquies are also often utilized to provide background information on a particular part of the play. The soliloquies used in Macbeth are in fact very important for the comprehension of the events in the play. William Shakespeare utilizes soliloquies throughout the play Macbeth to reveal the internal conflicts that the character Macbeth struggled with, such as when he wrestled with the idea…show more content…
Macbeth states, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time.” (V , 5 , 19-21). He feels as though everyday seems to just creep into the next one, and the next, and so on until the end of time. Macbeth bemoans , “And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! 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 , 5 , 22-28). Macbeth feels as though life is an unsubstantial illusion. An illusion in which actors play meaningless parts for which they strut about and fret over nothing for an hour and then disappear, never to return. This life, this narrative, it is told by an idiot. It is full of noise and emotion, but it has no significance, no meaning. Macbeth’s life was brief, and so were the lives of the others who died and were killed. Macbeth realizes how meaningless all his crooked efforts were, because in the end, he didn’t have anything left. Through his soliloquy, Macbeth realizes that his life is devoid of

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