In what context does Macbeth make this speech?"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stageAnd then is heard no more."A. He is surrounded by the enemy. B. He learns of the death of his wife. C. He dons his armor and brandishes his sword. D. He is gathering his armies to march off to war.

B. He learns of the death of his wife.

Explanation:

William Shakespeare's tragedy play "Macbeth" revolves around the story of a man's greed for his own gain coupled with the incessant urging by his own wife led to their downfall. The character of Macbeth may have started as a good man but greed and want for more power led to his numerous misdeeds and even to his own death and that of his wife.

In Act V scene v, we see the scene were Macbeth had just got the message about the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth. He seems not too shocked about it anyhow, claiming that "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more". He rather accepts the death of his wife and calmly admits that life is more like the work of an idiot without any meaningful purpose.