Soliloquies Essay - A Powerful Soliloquy in Macbeth -- Macbeth essays

A Powerful Soliloquy in Macbeth 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. Macbeth is talking to an officer, when hearing of his wife's demise his mood suddenly deepens into that of emptiness.   He begins a soliloquy and states a number of ironic things.   He states that life drags on, that it "creeps in this petty pace" when in reality the speed of his actions and the development of the play's plot are taking place at a great speed.   Furthermore he goes on to describe life as a "brief candle," thus communicating that life’s opposite; death must therefore be an eternal darkness.   Throughout the play, the character Macbeth has longed for death, perhaps so that he can be unleashed from his worldly pain and guilt. He goes... ...arkness, pain, and insignificant. Works Cited and Consulted: Biggins, Dennis. "Light and Darkness in Macbeth." Shakespeare Studies VII (1975) Gilligan, Carol. Irony in Macbeth. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982 Kinney, Arthur F. ed. William Shakpespeare: the Tragedies. Boston: Hall and Company, 1985. Noble, Adrian. "At age 436, His Future is Unlimited." New York Times 23 Apr. 2000, late ed., sec. 2:5. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Elements of Literature. Sixth ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1997. "William Shakespeare." BBC Homepage. Online. Available . 26 Mar. 2004.