POEM : LIFE'S BRIEF CANDLE

 

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,

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 shadows, 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.

 William Shakespeare

 Biography of the Poet

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1564. He wrote many plays for theatre. He was a creative and serious playwright and actor, who earned the respect of aristocrats and commoners alike.

William Shakespeare plays brought out the human dimensions. Human emotions, experiences and perceptions made his plays interesting and exciting. His plays were of comedy, tragic-comedy, and dramatic. Throughout his lifetime, he wrote more than 37 plays. His works include "Macbeth", "Mid-Summer Night's Dream", "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "King Lear", "The Tempest" and other interesting plays. He also wrote poems that appeared in his plays. Although William Shakespeare died in 1616, his literary works are still popular and well-received by people throughout the world. 

General Introduction

Poet are generally interested in putting across their ideas through their poems. They used words to bring out the human dimensions relating to joyful and tragic events, incidents or situations.

In the poem Life's Brief Candle by William Shakespeare, the main character in the play "Macbeth" deals with the situation where he finds out that his wife, Lady Macbeth is dead. The news of Lady Macbeth's death makes him feel remorse and he is in despair. Macbeth realises that life is short and meaningless.

 

Subject of Poem 

The poem relates to a tragic moment. The subject of the poem is death. Life is short or brief; just like the candle, which can only burn for a fixed period of  time. The poem deals with death. Death is unpredictable. No one can live forever, when the time comes, all of us will have to meet the end of life.

Theme of The Poem 

The team of the poem relates to the general idea or ideas running throughout the poem. A poem may have one or more themes depending on the subject the persona deals with and the experiences the persona undergoes. There are several themes in the poem "Life's Brief Candle". The themes are:

• life is short (just like a brief candle)
• life is meaningless (no one realises the importance of life)
• life is unpredictable (no one can live forever as one's lifetime is limited; death is unpredictable, and it can happen anytime)
• life is temporary (just like the brief candle) 

  

Tone of The Poem

The tone of the poem refers to the feelings, attitudes, perceptions and experiences of the persona. It also relates to the mood of the persona (angry, sad, upset, disappointed, regretful, sarcastic, etc). These feelings, attitudes and perceptions are expressed either directly or indirectly. The persona undergoes certain experiences that make him or her react in a particular way or shows particular emotions. These emotions show whether the persona is sarcastic, furious, lamenting, emotionally strong, weak or even sceptical about an issue or the future.

In Life's Brief Candle, the persona is regretful that his wife, Lady Macbeth is dead. He is saddened with the death and feels that life is too short and meaningless. He realises that both life and death are unpredictable. He feels despair and expects bad things to happen in life. These feelings show that the persona is pessimistic. He says that:

"The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player"

Moral Values

The poem deals with death and shows that life is short. We learn that life is short and unpredictable. Therefore, one should learn to use time wisely and to the fullest to ensure a successful life. The poem teaches us that we must also set goals in life and make life meaningful, so that we know what we want to do in life.

Language

Poets use language to make the presentation of the poem more interesting. They use language to engage the readers' senses and imagination. Poets use different styles to express their ideas, feelings, and experiences. 


Style refers to the unique feature of a piece of poem which differ from other poems. Poets use a particular style which allow them get the readers be interested and appreciate their poems. 


In "Life's Brief Candle" the poet uses the following figurative language (words, phrases or sayings which provide a mental picture, and often give different meanings from the usual use). The poet also uses imagery (words, phases or expressions) which works on our senses. Our five senses are engaged through the use of particular imagery and we, as the readers feel the experiences, as if we too are part of the experiences or events. We also feel the emotions or moods of the persona, as we read the poems. 

Imagery : Words and phrases used in the "Life's a Brief Candle"

Sense of touch : 'creeps in this petty pace' (line 2)

Sense of sight : 'a walking shadow' (line 6)

Sense of hearing : full of sound and fury (line 9)

The poet uses words to state that life is like a brief candle. Life moves slowly from day to day until the end of time. The end of time is until one's death.

"Creeps in this petty pace from day to day 

  To the last syllable of recorded time"

The poet uses words to show that life is nothing but 'a walking shadow' and 'a poor player'.

Glossary

1. creeps - moves slowly, quietly and carefully
2. petty - small and unimportant 
3. pace - the speed at which something happens
4. syllable - any of the units into which a word is divided
5. all our yesterdays - the recent past
6. dusty - full of dust
7. brief - short
8. shadow - the dark shape made when a light shines on a person or an object
9. struts - to proudly show one's ability
10. frets - to be worried or unhappy and not able to relax
11. stage - a raised area, usually in a theatre where actors, dancers perform 
12. heard - listened or paid attention to somebody or something 
13. tale - story created using the imagination especially one that is full of action and adventure
14. idiot - a very stupid person
15. sound and fury - noise and extreme anger
16. signifying - meaning