Reflecting on what you've achieved

Phew! How was that?

For better or worse, we've just rewritten what is widely regarded as one of the greatest passages from one of the greatest writers in history.

Take a look at what you produced:

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)

These were your original notes.

This was your first draft.

This was your revised version, incorporating iambic pentameter.

When you look back, we've done a lot in this lesson, including:

Learn a bit about the Shakespeare, Macbeth and performance.
Come up with images and actions to express profound disappointment.
Experimented with distinctively Shakespearean phrases, including 'to verb no more' and 'noun's but'.
And learned to feel and incorporate iambic pentameter as part of the revision process.

We really hope you are happy with and proud of what you've written, and can read Macbeth's soliloquy with new appreciation and insight, and maybe what you've learned here will help you tackle more Shakespeare—he's worth the effort!

Writelike Shakespeare: Macbeth's 'Tomorrow' soliloquy

Reflecting on what you've achieved