Thursday, December 01, 2005

Shakespeare belies his own words

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...
Shakespeare may have reached a dusty death described in the pessimistic passage below but his work lives on and contradicts the "signifying nothing" phrase.

"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 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."

--From Macbeth (V, v, 19)

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