William Shakespeare quote:

National Poetry Month

“The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven,
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.”

~ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, V.I

Good evening. Yesterday, I was reminded that this is National Poetry Month by an excellent blogger:

Robert Okaji – O at the Edges
National Poetry Month: A Few of My Favorite Poems & Poets

His blog led me to think about poets and poems I like, and while listing some of my sample favorites in the comments section, I included Shakespeare’s sonnets. This lead me to remember about my sonnet which I then posted… this is how my brain works; it’s exhausting.

Anyway, later that night I was doing a little cleaning and found an old little paperback that I purchased several years ago. I found it at the gift shop of a cool outdoor theater in Spring Green, WI, “The American Player’s Theatre,” where they perform plays, especially Shakespeare’s. This little book doesn’t contain his sonnets, but snippets from his plays. In the Poetry section I found the above gem. I thought it appropriate.

For those of you who like poetry, but find Shakespeare daunting, there are four options:

  1. Give up and never try him – (not recommended)
  2. try his stuff in little doses – (like the above)
  3. go see one of his play’s – (the play’s the thing, right? – Watching the action along with the language can make all the difference)
  4. Go full-billy, and pick a play – (work it out)

Number four is how it started for me. In High School, two other girls and I were assigned the play Macbeth, keep in mind, it was a group assignment. Have you ever done a group assignment? I was never a particularly good student, but I liked to read. Once I realized that I was quite alone with regards to the assignment, I just tucked in. Once I found the rhythm of his language – I was fascinated – and hooked.

Shakespeare is worth the effort.

Shakespeare, William. “Poetry.” 1993. The Sayings of William Shakespeare. London:
Gerald Duckworth, 1993. 14. Print.