Macbeth (excerpts): Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Macbeth (excerpts): Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Original Text
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (London: Printed by Isaac Jaggard and Ed. Blount, 1623), sig. nn3v (p. 758) / STC (2nd ed.) 22273
3To the last syllable of recorded time,
4And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
5The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle.
6Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
7That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
8And then is heard no more. It is a tale
9Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
10Signifying nothing.
Notes
1] Macbeth’s nihilistic soliloquy appears in the play’s final act. Back to Line
2] petty: with undue concern for trivial things; also a term denoting descending generations (OED adj.2) Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1623
RPO poem Editors
Christopher Matusiak
RPO Edition
2011
Form