Commentary on Act Five Scene Five in Macbeth

In act 5 scene 5 of Macbeth by Shakespeare, we see Macbeth preparing the castle for the coming battle, and then thinking back on how he has changed since he met the witches and resolved to kill Duncan. This scene happens after Malcom and his cousins meet to discuss the march to Dunsinane, and before the attack on the castle begins. The main purpose of the scene is to highlight the development of Macbeth’s character throughout the play, and is significant because it highlights Macbeth’s inability to control his own ambition. The scene is broken into four main parts. In the first, Macbeth is full of bluster, and then once he is alone, he becomes more reflective and contemplates the way he has changed. Once he learns of the Queens death, he starts philosophically thinking about the uselessness of life. Finally, as he learns of the approach of Birnam wood, he starts to lose faith in the prophecies, yet resolves to die fighting and to never give up. At the very beginning of the scene, Macbeth is full of confidence, as he may be trying to reassure his soldiers, however it is also likely that he is trying to boost his own confidence as well. “our castle’s strength / will laugh a siege to scorn;” this shows him personifying the castle, which could be because he is becoming lonely, as he no longer has any close friends, having either killed them, or been distanced from them through his acts and position as king. He personifies the castle to fill the gap where he would put people he would trust to fight valiantly, however that may be because the castle has no chance but to stand for Macbeth. When Seyton leaves the room and Macbeth is left alone, he begins to reflect on how he has changed. “The time has been when my sense would have cool’d / To hear a nights shriek,” this is Macbeth wondering at how an unexpected noise would have startled him, and now he barley hears it. This shows the theme of desensitization, as Macbeth has gradually become less and less human. He has become desensitized by the atrocious acts he has done or orchestrated. This fits in with Macbeths loss of senses, and indeed, he does say “and my fell of hair / would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir / as life were int. I have supp’d full with horrors / direness, familiar to my slaughterhouse thoughts, cannot once start me.” This highlights Macbeth’s loss of human senses. Macbeth’s recollective attitude is shown through connections to the killing of Duncan. He says he has “supp’d full with horrors”, a connection to him meeting Banquo’s ghost at the dinner table, and the owl and the rickets that lady Macbeth mentions in act two scene two are the noises that would cause his hair to “rouse and stir as life were int” When Macbeth hears of the queens death, his mood takes a dark turn, going from self-reflecting, to nihilistic. During his contemplation of the meaning of life, time is an important theme in his speech. “to-morrow and to-morrow and to-morrow” he says this in a boring and slow manner, because what he is discussing is a slow topic. He also personifies tomorrow, and he does that by using the verb “creeps” which is normally associated with despised people. Another form of repetition is when he says “creeps in this petty pace from day to day / to the last syllable of recorded time” the repeating of tomorrow can be connected to the “from day to day” and he repeats this because days are endlessly repeated, which is why he says “to the last syllable of recorded time” he does the same thing when he says “and all our yesterdays” he again speaks of days in a plural form, and thereby creating the sense of repetition. Symbols are used in this soliloquy, when Macbeth mentions that candle. The candle is a symbol of life, as it is short and easily snuffed out. Shadow is a symbol of life, as the shadow is an empty shell that has no physical qualities, and Macbeth, in his sombre mood, feels that life is meaningless, and he therefore sees it as a shadow. He sees it this way because he has been desensitized, and he is therefore ignorant of the joy that can bring. Theatre imagery is also used to describe Macbeths view on life. He says “life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / who struts and frets his hour upon the stage / and then is heard no more.” This again portrays Macbeth’s view of the empty shell of life. He then vents his anger towards life by saying “it is a tale / told by an idiot, full of sound and fury / signifying nothing” this sentence clearly shows Macbeths contempt for the uselessness of life. Finally, Macbeth hears of the approach of a wood, and he realises that the prophecies have lead him into tricking himself. He says “if thou speak’st false / upon the next tree thou shalt hang alive, / till famine cling thee;” this shows Macbeth is furious that the sentry is saying such things, as it is completely ridiculous that such a thing could happen, so Macbeth thinks that the guard is ridiculing him. Despite this, he begins to doubt that the prophecies actually told them what he believed. “I pull in resolution and begin / to doubt the equivocation of the fiend” this shows he no longer trusts what the prophecies seemed to have told him, and he is breaking free from the witches manipulation. This is also shown when he says “Blow, wind! Come, wrack! / At least we’ll die with harness on our back” In conclusion it can be seen that act five scene five in Macbeth is very important to the overall plot, as it shows a huge development in Macbeth’s character. The scene also progresses the plot through the death of the queen, and also the approach of Birnam wood, and therefore the beginning of the siege of Dunsinane. Macbeth’s mood varies a lot throughout this scene, which is a way to show how he has become a little crazy, yet he regains his senses at the end of the scene, and becomes once more like his previous self, before he met the witches.