Writelike Shakespeare: Macbeth's 'Tomorrow' soliloquy

A bit about the play

This passage comes from the last act of Macbeth.

Without any further context, read this passage again and write down what you think it is about, and anything about the language or structure that interests you.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

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.

Macbeth(1606)
What do you think this snippet is about? Is there anything in the language or structure that captures your attention? How does this snippet make you feel?

If you don't know the play, Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's great tragedies. It's set in medieval Scotland and tells the story of a Scottish warrior/general who opens the play as a big war hero but then kills his king and takes the throne, only to have everything fall apart afterwards. 

Macbeth illustration by Raul Arias

This passage comes near the end of the play, at Macbeth's lowest point: he's murdered all his friends; the country's rebelling against his rule; he's surrounded by enemies; and now his wife has just killed herself out of guilt for her part in the murder of the king,  

This speech is essentially Macbeth saying, "Life sucks, and none of this was worth it." 

Ironically, he doesn't give up; after this speech he marches into battle still believing that while life might suck, he's still king and nobody can take that away from him. (Spoiler: they take that away from him.)

Macbeth, Raul Arias 22

(By Raul Arias)

Macbeth Thug Notes

Thug Notes summary and analysis has possibly the best one-line summary of Macbeth: "The classical tragedy of a once-righteous brother who balls 'til he falls!" (Though you could argue that Macbeth doesn't get to do much balling before falling—he mostly has a pretty bad time throughout.)

TED-Ed's "Why should you read Macbeth?" has gorgeous animation art plus a nice summary of the political context in which the play was written and performed (i.e. Macbeth, a play about how killing the king and taking his throne ends very badly for the assassins, was written and performed at a time when some conspirators had just tried to assassinate the new Scottish/British king—so on one level the whole play is a warning to all would-be usurpers. Not only, 'If you come at the king, you best not miss,' but, 'Even if you hit, your life will be ruined because the crown don't fit.'). 

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