Act V, Scene vRead “Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5” by William Shakespeare on Genius |
This soliloquy, from Act 5, Scene 5 of Macbeth, is one of the most famous speeches in Shakespeare. In just twelve lines, through the despairing voice of his hero-villain, he grapples with and illuminates perhaps better than any other writer in English the themes of time, acting versus reality, the absurdity of existence, language, and death. Many scholars spar over the soliloquy’s meaning but few its importance.
Seyton has informed Macbeth that his queen is dead. He turns to the audience and gives a speech musing on his despair. In the following clip Ian McKellen explicates the speech from an actor’s point of view. |
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