Renaissance Drama – Macbeth (Acts IV–V)
In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare makes effective use of soliloquies, or private speeches that reveal a character's true feelings and thoughts. You have already experienced some famous soliloquies from Macbeth, such as Macbeth's dagger speech in Act II, Scene i or his "To be thus is nothing" soliloquy in Act III, Scene i.
A final soliloquy delivered by Macbeth will come in Act V. This soliloquy reveals Macbeth's transformation from a brave and righteous man to an empty, tarnished soul. So memorable and poignant is this speech that its influence has inspired art even centuries after Shakespeare's time. For example, William Faulkner based the title of his novel The Sound and the Fury from a line in this speech, and Robert Frost also drew inspiration from the soliloquy when titling his poem "Out, Out—." Read some lines of the soliloquy below and note how Macbeth describes life and what this reveals about his state of mind.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
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.
This soliloquy from Act V is Macbeth's response to news of someone's death. Who do you think will die in Act V, causing Macbeth to react this way?
Macbeth and many of Shakespeare's other plays were published in a collection known as the First Folio shortly after his death. In preparation of playing the title role in Macbeth, actor Ethan Hawke traveled to New York to examine a copy of the First Folio. View the video clip The Use of Soliloquy from eMediaVASM to take a look at Macbeth's soliloquy in the First Folio.