<P> 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'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 5, Scene 5, lines 17 - 28) </P> <P> "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" is the beginning of the second sentence of one of the more famous soliloquies in 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 . </P> <P> Seyton then tells Macbeth of Lady Macbeth's death, and Macbeth delivers this soliloquy as his response to the news . 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 . </P>

Who said it is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury