*Insert clever title here*

"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" Shakespeare, MacBeth [Act V, Sc. V]

Ive been reading some of Billy boy's work as of late because of boredom. This is one of my favorite quotes of his throughout all of his plays & sonnets. When I read it again, it reminded me of the statement Swoff said towards the end of his memior. Im going to paraphrase, but it was something like, "If you weren't in a war, you have no right to talk. This is my time to speak & you're going to listen"[When I have the book on me, I'll get the exact quotation. Promise ^_^] It is a very rough translation, but it got me to thinking; does Swoff's statement mirror Shakespeare?

Is being a soldier basically that? Where you go on 'stage' for a little bit, do your scene then leave? All these warriors go out & fight, yet, the only time they are remembered are if they died or did something climatic... Anthony Swofford is that idiot telling his tale, which is more than filled with sound & fury, despite the fact he never really did anything. In the end, though, what did his memior do? Nothing. It was basically his way of complaining & us listening to it. He forced his way onto another stage & had his hour.