Useless, useless

[KateH.]

Having studied a few works of Shakespeare in the past, I don't believe any character ever looks at his/her hands and says "useless, useless." The only similarity I can think of at the moment is the “out, damned spot” monologue from Lady Macbeth when she is washing guilt blood from her hands. I could be wrong though. Shakespeare has so many works out there that I have yet to read. I’ll have to search through some more.

You make a good point, Laurie. Shakespeare was very influential on many of the Booth children and they often performed the plays as adults. For example, Edwin Booth and his 100 nights of Hamlet. John Wilkes Booth often compared himself to many of the Bard's great characters and even used lines in his own writings. According to James Swanson in Manhunt, Booth compared himself to Macbeth in his “after being hunted like a dog” diary entry. It could be possible that, so near to death, Booth was trying to end his final performance with a great line and thought about what a tragic Shakespearean character might say with his/her last breath.