Metaphor Use in the Text

• Shakespeare wrote much of the text of his plays in iambic pentameter, a poetic form well-suited to speaking aloud. One of drama's most recognized speeches, words spoken by Macbeth in Act V of the play "Macbeth," contains the words "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." Within these 4 and 1/2 lines of text, Shakespeare creates three different metaphors for "life" -- that of a "walking shadow," "a poor player. . .upon the stage" and "a tale told by an idiot."