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.
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.
I've seen so many people asking what the poem is about on some forums and pages so here's a bit of explanation to you guys k ...
this poem is written by Shakespear him self and this poem in particular was also used in one of Shakespear's play the tittle of the play is " Macbeth " in other words this poem was written especially for this play . But you don't need to know the whole story about Macbeth just the plot .
OK so it turns out that this poem is actually used for a scene where Macbeth the main character of the play was alone . This is call soliloquy ( a situation where a character in the play talks alone to him/her self - doesn't necessarily has to be the main character ).
here's a summary on the play .
The Brief Story of Macbeth
Macbeth is one of the generals in the Scotland army. Macbeth is a relative to King Duncan of Scotland. One day, he receives three prophecies from three witches. One of the witches informs Macbeth that he will one day be the King of Scotland.Macbeth, who is hunger for power , schemes with his wife, Lady Macbeth to kill King Duncan.One night, King Duncan visits Macbeth. Macbeth uses this opportunity to take King Duncan's life while he was sleeping . After Duncan's death, Macbeth secures the throne as the new King of Scotland.
Despite his success, Macbeth feels uneasy that the rightful heir might turn up and grab the power from him. In order to keep the throne, he continues to kill more people that he thinks will get in his way. After the merciless events of killing Duncan and other innocent people, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feel guilty and tortured from the crime that they have committed. One night, Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and falls to her death. Some claim that she committed suicide.
Macbeth is grief-stricken upon learning of Lady Macbeth's death. He feels that life is not worth living and is unpredictable. To make things worse, his position is under threat. Trying to make sense of things, he reflects aloud on the meaning of life. He cries aloud his thoughts by reciting this poem . Meanwhile, a loyal nobleman to King Duncan named Macduff, accuses Macbeth of treason. Macduff wants to confront Macbeth. Macbeth feels even more hopeless and disappointed with his life. He knows that he cannot run away from the coming battle with Macduff. Finally, Macduff beheads Macbeth. That's the end of Lord Macbeth's life.
so after knowing how the story goes in conclusion this poem is used to reflect how Macbeth was feeling about life .
the "to-morrow" that is repeated for 3 times in line one reflects on the future .
"Creeps in this petty pace from day to day" here shows that time moves slowly and quietly .
"To the last syllable of recorded time" this here reflects on to the last breath of a person's life .
"And all our yesterdays have lighted fools" this one however shows that
our past has tricked us and that we have foolishly believed in the wrong things, which now lead us to our downfall & death .
"The way to dusty death" means that death will turn our body into dust .
Out, out, brief candle! symbolises that the poet wishes for his life to end where the candle is shown as the symbol of life .
"Life's but a walking shadow" shows that life is like a shadow and it's meaningless .
"a poor player" life is seen as a terrible actor on the stage .
"That struts and frets his hour upon the stage" this symbolises the actor who will play his/her part on the stage within the time that is given to him/her .
"And then is heard no more" this shows that the terrible actor will be forgotten once he/she leaves the stage .
"it is a tale Told by an idiot " this here symbolises that life is told by a fool/idiot that doesn't know anything .
"full of sound and fury" this shows that life is full of emotions and feelings .
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