"Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." It's the most nihilistic line in all of Shakespeare, and Macbeth says it when he learns that his wife has died.
Where the phrase appears
We are in Act Five, Scene Five. The siege closes on the castle, and news arrives that Lady Macbeth is dead. It is then that Macbeth says the monologue that begins in English with Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow". Time, once full of promises, has become an empty succession of days that drag on "until the last syllable of recorded time".
What does the phrase mean
The image is theatrical: life is "a shadow that walks, a poor actor who struts and struts his hour on the stage and is never heard from again." Macbeth got everything the witches promised, the throne, the power, the crown. And you discover, in the end, that the meaning didn't come in the package. Sound and fury are noise and agitation: lots of movement, no meaning. It is the diagnosis of a life that gained the world and lost itself.
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, meaning nothing.
Why did she become famous
Because it condenses, in one line, the destiny of those who force their own path. The phrase gave the title to novels (Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury") and has crossed four centuries because each generation recognizes in it the fear of reaching the end and thinking that they have run a long way for nothing. In Macbeth, it is not just despair: it is the exact consequence of having exchanged waiting for haste, meaning for results.
Complete class
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, on video
See the speech in its context in the complete analysis of the piece, on the channel Nous on YouTube.
Watch the class on YouTubeFrequently asked questions
What does "sound and fury, signifying nothing" mean?
This is the conclusion that Macbeth reaches at the end of the play: life seems to him to be agitated and meaningless noise, like the performance of an actor who soon leaves the scene. Having achieved everything through crime, he discovers that the package didn't mean anything.
In what scene does Macbeth say this phrase?
In Act Five, Scene Five, upon learning of Lady Macbeth's death. It's the monologue that begins with "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow", the most nihilistic line in all of Shakespeare.
What is the original phrase in English?
"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, meaning nothing." In Portuguese: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, meaning nothing.
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