The answer is: It progresses slowly.
In the lines from "Macbeth," the protagonist refers to the slow transition of time with a feeling of despair and hopelessness. In one of Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies, Macbeth expresses the insignificant meaning of life and the monotonous beating of time after learning his wife has died and he is about to lose his power.
Peasants more readily accepted unpleasant facts of life, while the middle class tried to deny them.
Ivan' servant keeps saying that its no trouble staying up with him all night, because he hopes someone else will do the same for him when he is unwell and dying. On the other hand, the middle class society his illness and impending death as a mere inconvenience.
