Sound and fury

Patrick Stewart - Macbeth (Act V, Scene V)

 

SEYTON

The queen, my lord, is dead.

MACBETH

She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
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.

(Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5, http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/full.html) 

In theater in high school and in college, we used to recite this monologue starting at "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow..."  I hadn't seen the play Macbeth before reciting this, so I wasn't sure of the context at the time.  But having since read it, I can appreciate it for its in-text connotation as well as it's wider impact.  I believe the feeling conveyed is more about the fragility of life and the sudden deadly circumstances that can snatch it away like a gust extinguishing a candle flame.

All of the arguments and hypotheses people propose fade away in the light of stark reality.  They mean little when facing death, or serious threats to one's own or one's family's well being.  We must remember to take other's opinions of us or of the current situation with a grain of salt and also be ready to deflate our own egos when need be.  Life is too short to not see our human connections to one another and this existence is too fleeting to let any teachable moment go to waste.

Learn as much as you can, when you can, before it's too late.  Keep your mind open to the possibilities and be humble in the face of oppression.  In that, there is a quiet power.  The elders knew of it in silence.