Happy Birthday Bard!
Martin Droeshout's 1623 engraving, one of only two artworks considered reliable likenesses of Shakespeare. True nerdy fact!
In honor of Shakespeare's 446th birthday today, Shmoop has launched its new Shakespeare section, an all-Shakespeare-all-the-time resource headlined by my biography of the Bard. Check it out! 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.
-Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5, 19-28
Posted on Friday, Apr 23, 2010
