Shakespeare Guide
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." - Explore the timeless passages from William Shakespeare's greatest works, with detailed breakdowns of their meaning, context, and literary significance.
Romeo and Juliet
The Prologue - Setting the Stage for Tragedy
Original Text
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Line-by-Line Breakdown
"Two households, both alike in dignity"
Shakespeare introduces two families of equal social status and respectability in Verona. The word "dignity" suggests they are both noble and well-regarded.
"From ancient grudge break to new mutiny"
An old feud between the families has erupted into fresh violence. "Mutiny" suggests rebellion and civil unrest.
"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life"
Children from these enemy families will become lovers destined for tragedy. "Star-cross'd" means their fate is written in the stars - doomed from the start.
"Do with their death bury their parents' strife"
Only through the death of their children will the feuding families finally end their conflict. Their sacrifice brings peace.
Key Themes
- Fate vs. Free Will: The lovers are "star-cross'd" - destined for tragedy
- Love and Death: Love and death are intertwined throughout the play
- Family Honor: The feud represents the destructive nature of inherited hatred
- Sacrifice: The young lovers' deaths serve a greater purpose
Macbeth
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Act V, Scene 5
Original Text
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
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.
Line-by-Line Breakdown
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow"
The repetition emphasizes the endless, monotonous nature of time. Macbeth sees life as an endless series of meaningless days stretching into the future.
"Creeps in this petty pace from day to day"
Time moves slowly and insignificantly. "Petty pace" suggests that each day is small and unimportant in the grand scheme.
"And all our yesterdays have lighted fools / The way to dusty death"
The past has only served to guide foolish humans toward death. "Dusty death" emphasizes our return to dust - mortality and decay.
"Out, out, brief candle!"
Life is compared to a candle - brief, flickering, easily extinguished. Macbeth wants to blow out this fragile flame of existence.
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player"
Life is an illusion (shadow) and humans are merely actors performing a role. We have no real substance or lasting impact.
"It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing"
Life is like a story told by someone who doesn't understand it - noisy and emotional but ultimately meaningless. This is Macbeth's nihilistic view of existence.
Key Themes
- Nihilism: Life is portrayed as meaningless and futile
- Time and Mortality: The relentless passage of time toward death
- Illusion vs. Reality: Life as shadow and performance
- Despair: Macbeth's complete loss of hope and meaning
Macbeth
The Dagger Soliloquy - Act II, Scene 1
Original Text
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes.
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes.
Line-by-Line Breakdown
"Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand?"
Macbeth sees a vision of a dagger floating before him, positioned as if ready to be grasped. This moment captures his hesitation before committing murder.
"I have thee not, and yet I see thee still"
He reaches for the dagger but cannot touch it - it's a hallucination. Yet the vision persists, showing his mental state as he prepares for murder.
"Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / To feeling as to sight?"
He questions whether this "fatal vision" can be felt as well as seen. The word "fatal" suggests both deadly and destined - this vision will lead to death.
"A dagger of the mind, a false creation, / Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?"
Macbeth recognizes this might be a mental creation - his fevered brain producing false visions. He's aware his mind may be playing tricks on him.
"Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going"
The dagger leads him toward Duncan's chamber - the direction he was already heading. The vision confirms his murderous intent.
"And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood"
Now he sees blood on the blade and handle ("dudgeon"). "Gouts" means drops or clots - the vision becomes more bloody and real as his resolve hardens.
"It is the bloody business which informs / Thus to mine eyes"
He concludes that thinking about the "bloody business" (murder) is causing these visions. His guilt and anticipation manifest as hallucinations.
Key Themes
- Guilt and Conscience: The dagger represents his inner conflict about murder
- Reality vs. Illusion: Questioning what is real versus imagined
- Supernatural: The blurring of natural and supernatural elements
- Ambition's Cost: The psychological toll of pursuing power through evil
- Fate and Free Will: Is the dagger guiding him or is he choosing his path?