Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" is the beginning of the second sentence of one of the most famous soliloquies in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. It takes place in the beginning of the 5th scene of Act 5, during the time when the Scottish troops, led by Malcolm and Macduff, are approaching Macbeth's castle to besiege it. Macbeth, the play's protagonist, is confident that he can withstand any siege from Malcolm's forces. He hears the cry of a woman and reflects that there was a time when his hair would have stood on end if he had heard such a cry, but he is now so full of horrors and slaughterous thoughts that it can no longer startle him.

For the short story by Kurt Vonnegut, see Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (short story).
"Sound and fury" redirects here. For other uses, see Sound and Fury (disambiguation).

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 is 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, lines 17–28)

Seyton then tells Macbeth of Lady Macbeth's death, and Macbeth delivers this soliloquy as his response to the news.[1] Shortly afterwards, he is told of the apparent movement of Birnam Wood towards Dunsinane Castle (as the witches previously prophesied to him), which is actually Malcolm's forces having disguised themselves with tree branches so as to hide their numbers as they approach the castle. This sets the scene for the final events of the play and Macbeth's death at the hands of Macduff.

Titular reuses

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow...

... and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death

Out, out, brief candle!

Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage.

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Other reuses
  • Kevin Costner's unnamed character from The Postman recites this while he is putting on a one man performance of Macbeth at the village in the opening act in exchange for food and supplies. He is continuously corrected by one of the villagers when he misquotes several lines, seemingly intentional in spite of the corrections.
  • Minister Zhang from Mr. Robot quotes the speech in an episode titled "Logic Bomb".
  • In the movie Birdman by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the entire monologue is recited by a jobless actor in the street.
  • In the video game Saints Row IV, the main antagonist Zinyak recites the soliloquy in its entirety, save for the first sentence.
  • The mis-quote "creeps on this petty pace" is used by the Sopranos character Johnny Sack in the season four finale when complaining to Tony Soprano over Johnny's working relationship with his boss.
  • In Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen (episode 4) the Doctor, having destroyed a cyberman using a cybermat, declaims before the body: "...dusty death. Out, out..." – he is heard no more as Sarah Jane Smith hurries him from the room.
  • Marilyn Manson recites part of the soliloquy in the song "Overneath the Path of Misery" and in the short film Born Villain (2011).
  • Hamilton uses the third and fourth lines of the section in the song "Take a Break".[5]
  • In the video game Death Stranding, the player can unlock a journal written by the main antagonist Higgs Monaghan lamenting his defeat, which paraphrases the end of the monologue.
  • The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Hide and Q" (S01 E10, 1987-11-23) uses this quote.
  • ESPN SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott frequently used the last two lines as a catch phrase to describe sports highlights.
  • The Lecturer's Tale, James Hynes pg. 7

References
  1. Andersen, Richard (2009). Macbeth. Marshall Cavendish. p. 104.
  2. Platou, Arnold S. (March 31, 2003). "Harry Warner's parallel universe". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  3. Robinson, Edward G.; Spigelgass, Leonard (1973). All my yesterdays; an autobiography. Internet Archive. New York, Hawthorn Books.
  4. "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men", Wikipedia, 2020-10-28, retrieved 2021-01-02
  5. "Take a Break Lyrics". lyrics.com. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
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