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Wordplay: "wine of life"
Context and Language Videos
Act 2,
Scene 3
Lines 88-93

An explanation of the phrase "wine of life" in Act 2, Scene 3 of myShakespeare's Macbeth.

myShakespeare | Macbeth 2.3 Wordplay: "wine of life"

Macbeth

Had I but died an hour before this chance,
I had lived a blessed time; for from this instant,
There's nothing serious in mortality.
All is but toys; renown and grace is dead.
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of.
Video Transcript: 

RALPH:  Macbeth compares a Scotland without Duncan to an empty wine barrel. The dregs are the leftovers in the bottom of the barrel after the good wine has been drained off.

DAVINA:  Shakespeare also makes a pun on the word “vault.” A vault is an arched roof, such as you would find in a wine cellar. But it also refers to Duncan’s burial vault. And finally, it metaphorically represents the sky over Scotland, which now looks down on the kingdom and can find no one worth bragging about since Duncan is gone.