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MACBETH. She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow 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
One of the first-recorded uses of this phrase was by the character Lady Macbeth in Act 3, Scene 2 of the tragedy play Macbeth (early 17th century), by the English playwright William Shakespeare, who said: "Things without all remedy Should be without regard: what's done, is done" [2] and "Give me your hand.
Three Witches, MacBeth, by James Henry Nixon, British Museum (1831). The concept of the Three Witches themselves may have been influenced by an Old Norse skaldic poem, [5] in which twelve valkyries weave and choose who is to be slain at the Battle of Clontarf (fought outside Dublin in 1014).
The Tragedy of Macbeth, often shortened to Macbeth (/ m ə k ˈ b ɛ θ /), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. [ a ] It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambitions and power.
The traditional origin is said to be a curse set upon the play by a coven of witches, angry at Shakespeare for using a real spell. [2] One hypothesis for the origin of this superstition is that Macbeth, being a popular play, was commonly put on by theatres in financial trouble, or that the high production costs of Macbeth put theatres in financial trouble.
Actors also avoid even quoting the lines from Macbeth before performances, particularly the Witches' incantations. Outside a theatre and after a performance, the play can be spoken of openly. If an actor speaks the word "Macbeth", or quotes the play, in a theatre other than in performance, they must perform a ritual to remove the curse.
Batson, Beatrice ed. Shakespeare’s Christianity: The Protestant and Catholic Poetics of Julius Caesar, Macbeth and Hamlet Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2006. Batson, Beatrice ed. Word and Rite: The Bible and Ceremony in Selected Shakespearean Works Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010.
The Sleepwalking Lady Macbeth by Johann Heinrich Füssli, late 18th century. (Musée du Louvre) Act 5, Scene 1, better known as the sleepwalking scene, is a critically celebrated scene from William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (1606). It deals with the guilt and madness experienced by Lady Macbeth, one of the main themes of the play.