Solioquies for Macbeth

Act 1 Scene 5- Lady Macbeth

The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry 'Hold, hold!' 

This scene is taking place in the castle where Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are present. Lady Macbeth spralls herself out on an item and starts saying a description of what she is feeling to the spirits. Basically what is happening is that Lady Macbeth is telling the spirits that even the mightiest bird is not able to succeed life past Duncan. When she continues on saying "Unsex me", that means that she wants to be a male and have power over everyone. The whole time she is saying this, she is lifting herself up and thrusting around, almost in a sexual way. She goes on to say that she wants all of her milk from her women breasts to be gone, and this is because she wants everything that makes her a women, gone.

Act 1 Scene 7- Macbeth

If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We'ld jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To our own lips. He's here in double trust;
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on the other.

This is taking place outside the tower where is has no idea what to do. He plants his head in the wall to think and feel like he is not being seen. He is thinking about what will and could happen when he plans to kill Duncan. He is going through all of the different steps in percussion to killing Duncan and wants all of the pain and consequences to go away. He is thinking about skiiping the life to come. He starts to say that people make bad decisions and they can come back to haunt you in the future, and he is not wanting that to happen. But all he can think about is if he kills Duncan he is king. The king trusts the man and has a lot of respect for him because one, he is his cousin and two he was Duncan's host for the night and nobody would have the guts to do such a thing. Macbeth is feeling the guilt already and hasn't even killed Duncan, he goes on to thinking what the town will think when Duncan is dead, the will be sad and filled with pity.


Act 2 Scene 1- Macbeth


Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.  


This soliloquy discusses what Macbeth is feeling when he goes to get the dagger to kill Duncan. Guilt is hitting him and he starts to second guess himself. On his way to get the dagger in the dark filled room, he starts to close his eyes to see if it was a dream and if it was really real. He realizes that this moment is truly real and proceeds to grab the dagger. It points in the direction of Duncan's room but he notices something suspicious... there is already blood on it. He believes that it is the violence and anger inside of him that is coming out. He then proceeds to kill the king with making not a bit of noise. 


Act 5 Scene 5- Macbeth

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
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 is spoken by Macbeth when he is talking about how long a day is and how they are always the same as yesterday and tomorrow. He says, "Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow", this is telling us that there are many candles in life that should be blown out. This means that the candles that should be blown out are signs that people should just die. When Macbeth goes on to say, "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon stage" he is describing an actors life, like how they can go on stage for a hour and then just leave. He is just feeling like life is pointless and doesn't really feel like he should be there anymore.