<span>the first poster does have a point about trying to do your own homework, but you get a pass with me this time because i really, really like macbeth (which i also had to learn in a class). anyways, here's my impression of it.....
1. this is one of my favorite verses in shakespeare and it's necessary because by the end of the play you can see how far macbeth has fallen.... he starts out as a "good guy"... brave, noble, a good swordsman, a great leader, ironically he naturally has all of the attributes that make a good and just king
2. macbeth is still not fully transformed (in personality at least) from good to evil and he is therefore still sorry that he has killed duncan whose blood is literally on his hands, so much that he is unwilling to go back and frame duncan's attendants for murder. lady macbeth on the other hand, who sees the prize (kingship) close at hand, is ashamed at how weak he appears and is unaffected by the blood on her hands after she finishes macbeth's job for him, noting that all they need is some water to clear them of the deed...
3. macbeth's change is seen by his willingness to kill essentially his best friend (banquo) because of the potential threat he poses... also if you juxtapose his speech with lady macbeth before he kills banquo and this one when he plots to kill banquo, in the former he is far more timid and unsure while here he is the one pressing the issue... before, he doesn't want to kill duncan partially because of how "good" he is, but now, presented with a person who not only has similar qualities but is also HIS BEST FRIEND, he has NO problems in ordering his murder.
4. he kills macduff's family because the witches tell him that macduff most likely will cause his downfall.... i think his decision to kill macduff's family as well as his best friend banquo shows that he is ruthless and willing to do anything, even kill innocents in order to hold on to his kingship. also the more evil he does the more isolated he becomes, as he loses allies to suspicion, (nobles, macduff, malcolm), madness (lady macbeth) and murder (banquo), so he keeps killing because he basically realizes that he cannot turn back and therefore must keep on the evil path he has chosen for himself...
5. macbeth basically is sorry that lady macbeth died at such an inopportune time so he could not give her a proper farewell. he then speaks about how essentially pointless the span of life can be, comparing it first to a candle, which burns brightly but has a finite length of time before it is extinguished, then to an actor or a stage for a short time. both metaphors do a good job of conveying how small each life is to the grand scheme of things; our life, our TIME is finite and comes to an end yet TIME itself moves on irrespective of what happens to each of us, or how bright or dim each of our own candles were.</span>
