Skip to main content

Why did Macbeth think that time went so slowly?

In Act V, Scene 5, just after being informed that the Queen is dead, Macbeth speaks a famous soliloquy containing these lines:


Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrowCreeps in this petty pace from day to day


The word "creeps" and the words "petty pace" suggest that Macbeth thinks time is passing very slowly. But why does he perceive time in this way? The answer seems to be contained in the same soliloquy. A few lines...

In Act V, Scene 5, just after being informed that the Queen is dead, Macbeth speaks a famous soliloquy containing these lines:



Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day



The word "creeps" and the words "petty pace" suggest that Macbeth thinks time is passing very slowly. But why does he perceive time in this way? The answer seems to be contained in the same soliloquy. A few lines later Macbeth says:



Out, out, brief candle



Macbeth feels that life is meaningless. This explains why he feels that time is moving slowly. Day follows day in a seemingly endless succession--and yet the one day that is marked for his own death never seems to arrive. He looks into the future and sees nothing but tomorrows. He looks into the past and sees that these tomorrows have turned into yesterdays. He has nothing good to look forward to in the future, and nothing good to remember in the past. He envies his wife. She is at peace.


Why doesn't he just commit suicide if he feels so apathetic? No doubt he is afraid of what might happen to him in the afterlife. In an earlier soliloquy he indicates that he has sold his soul to the devil by murdering King Duncan, the man who trusted and loved him.



For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind,
Put rancors in the vessel of my peace
Only for them, and mine eternal jewel
Given to the common enemy of man.   III.1





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

Discuss movements that were inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and list one success for each group.

African-Americans contributed in a very big way during World War II. These contributions were demonstrated at home and on the battlefield. After the war, African-Americans properly felt it was time for them to achieve equality with white Americans. During the 1950's, the modern Civil Rights Movement was born and it had a number of successes (integration of the military and Brown vs. Board of Education as examples.) This success inspired other activists to demand change... African-Americans contributed in a very big way during World War II. These contributions were demonstrated at home and on the battlefield. After the war, African-Americans properly felt it was time for them to achieve equality with white Americans. During the 1950's, the modern Civil Rights Movement was born and it had a number of successes (integration of the military and Brown vs. Board of Education as examples.) This success inspired other activists to demand change for their agendas. Two examples of moveme...
Post a Comment
Read more

Follow the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker. They endure over two hundred days of hardship together, but in the end Richard Parker leaves...

When Pi and Richard Parker are at the beginning of their journey, after Pi's family is killed in the shipwreck, Pi fears Richard Parker, but he is forced to find a way to co-exist with him in order to survive.  Over time the two develop a somewhat co-dependent relationship.  Richard Parker depends on Pi to feed him by catching fish, while Pi's will to live is bolstered by Richard Parker's presence.  Richard Parker recognizes that... When Pi and Richard Parker are at the beginning of their journey, after Pi's family is killed in the shipwreck, Pi fears Richard Parker, but he is forced to find a way to co-exist with him in order to survive.  Over time the two develop a somewhat co-dependent relationship.  Richard Parker depends on Pi to feed him by catching fish, while Pi's will to live is bolstered by Richard Parker's presence.  Richard Parker recognizes that he also needs Pi to survive.  At one point in the book, Pi's starvation and thirst reduce him to a st...
Post a Comment
Read more