Out, out, brief candle!

Shakespeare’s Macbeth expresses his grief over the news of the Queen’s death, delivering a monologue on the pathetic brevity of Life:

Act V, Scene V

By Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Rossetti Archive, Public Domain. The Commons.

Macb. 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 here no more; it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing. —

Moral: Life is short. Make it matter while you are here.