For your consideration:
1. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
2. Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
3. To the last syllable of recorded time;
4. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
5. The way to dusty death; Out, out, brief candle!
6. Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player
7. That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
8. And then is heard no more; it is a tale
9. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
10. Signifying nothing.
The above quotation is from the last act of MACBETH when MacBeth learns that his wife has committed suicide - "The Queen is dead." He is alone - I believe - and so it is a soliloquy. He is getting into armor to do battle with MacDuff who is already at his gates clamoring to storm the castle.
(Yes, yes, I know the above quotation is from MACBETH - and no, it's not a sonnet - and that we are about to read HAMLET, not MACBETH, but this exercise is to get you thinking, visualizing and hearing Shakespeare.)
Read the above and try to visualize what is being said.
What is the connotation of tomorrow?
What is the effect of repeating the word tomorrow three times? What effect does the repetition of the word tomorrow have? What do you see? Does it bring any auditory (hearing) effect for you?
What connotation does the word "creeps" have? Write down all the words and emotions that the word "creeps" conjures for you. Write down at least five emotionally laden words.
What connotation does the word "pace" have? Write down all the words and emotions that "pace" conjures for you. Write down at least five emotionally laden words.
What do you think "to the last syllable of recorded time..." means? Does that conjure up any visual or auditory imagery for you? What is it? How do you think this might relate to the overall theme and/or tone of the piece?
If you're not sure about the meaning of lines four and five, reorder the word order and see if it makes better sense. Try putting it in more modern English. What is being lighted - fools or the way to dusty death?
What imagery and symbolism does the alliterative phrase "dusty death' conjure?
What are all the possible symbolic meanings of the phrase "Out, out brief candle?"
What does the word "but" mean in the line "Life's but a walking shadow"?
What are the connotations of the word "shadow?"
What or who is the "poor player"? How is the use of the word "player" fitting for a great playwright/ producer/actor to use? Remember Shakespeare's other famous reference to the stage: "All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players"? How is life like the stage and we are like poor players on life's stage?
What diminishing effect does the phrase "...struts and frets his hour upon the stage..." have upon human behavior and our misplaced sense of self importance?
Who or what is the "it" that is told by an idiot?
Who or what is the idiot?
What chilling effect does the phrase, "and then is heard no more" have on you, the reader?
What is full of sound and fury? What signifies nothing?
What is the cumulative impact of the last phrase, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing?"
Under what conditions might a person think these thoughts?
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