The Soul of Wit

The Pagemaster's Challenge #11.......to write something inspired by William Shakespeare and or-his characters--his plays etc.

 

 

Come now Balthasar sing us a tune,

Make widows merry and Bianca swoon.

Iago is listening,

Take care where you tread

Or Henry shall separate you... from your head.

Lysander is sleeping his fate is now fixed

Hamlet is plotting ....his uncle is nixed.

Paris is blinded he knows not the cost,

Wordplay and puns consume Loves Labours Lost.

Poor Romeo is dying far too soon,

Macbeth see’s ghosts about the room.

Hero is slandered by the wicked Don John,

But it won’t be long before the prince catches on.

Richard thought the crown was in his grasp,

Desdemona cried innocence with her last gasp!

Anthony succumbed to Cleopatras charms,

Only to die slowly ...within her arms.

Ungrateful daughters surrounded King Lear,

Viola tricked Orsino with her masculine gear.

Shylock has come for his pound of flesh,

Titus made sure Tamoras pies were fresh.

Isabella kept her honor thanks to the dark,

Prospero must get off the island to make his mark.

Egeon thought his wife lost to the sea,

Only to find her in a nunnery.

Overdone’s brothel holds many secrets in store,

As punishment Lucio has to marry his w***e.

Cauis sadly had to eat his words,

For it was he..... who was fed to the birds.

Timon oh Timon thou art a fool indeed,

The king would give up all for a steed.

Emilia wished to marry whom loved her best,

Alas Palamon lost the battle but passed the test.

Cymbeline finds his children alive,

Somehow Marina found the will to survive.

Helena’s cunning plot is revealed

Hermione waits in stone concealed.

Come now Balthasar sing us a tune,

A tragic air ...for us you must croon

Capture us with Shakespearian tongue

With cauldrons and witches to dance among

Make Will proud ...tell a tale with quick wit

Never you mind .......tell it “As you like it”.

 

 

Author's Note

Sandy found 36 references to W.S. plays how many can you find lol lol...have fun!

Reviews

[Glen Yumang Manese]

For the love of God...this took me back to the days of English class...how we had to memorize all his verses by heart and recite them in front of the class...A+ to this ensemble of a write...I still can recite the 31 lines of "To be or Not to be"...but as far as the others...I'd need a day or two...

[MissDivinejacque]

I swear that should be in a school literature book. that was great! well done!

[Captain Goldpants]

Hilarious!

I hate the bard, the truth be told,
His tales are replete with repeat
and the story, old.
But his rhyme and wit, I must admit
are what saves his many
and otherwise dreary skit

Really clever. I love your enthusiasm and I think ol' Willy would've appreciated the wordplay.

And the rest of you, shame on you - read the bard! All the stories are the same, but the writing is witty and��he's bigger than The Beatles.

[J]

My goodness ~ I am carried away [once again] by your intrinsic rhyming ability without seeming effort. You have managed to gather together, in brilliant fashion, the Bard's best into a truly amazing mosaic. I am humbled by your literary intelligence. Thank you for this.
Loves,
j

[Nick Erickson]

A Shakespearian scholar I'm not, but I was caught up from the start as you moved seamelessly from one line to the next, quilting the works together as if one. Hats off.

Your flow is great, considering to many different sources as is the imagery as it pulls from the Shakespeare we all know and stories we remember.

Well done!!

[Kevin Vorshak]

Well, JP, you are either very well versed in Shakespeare, or you spent considerable time and effort in researching it. Regardless, and not being a Shakespearean scholar myself, this is brilliant work. It really flows nicely and all the references you included is quality work indeed. Truly top-notch writing.

[Beatrice Boyle (Grandm..]

So sorry J P...when I reviewed this, I notice that my review came up twice, and in deleting one of theem, they both were deleted!

To sum up> I am a dedicated shakespeare lover, having played Jessica in Drama School many years ago! I think it a shame that so many young people today consider him a chore to be gotten through in English class. All it takes is a dedicated teacher with enthusiasm and committment, to light a fire in their belly and give them an alternative to "rap!"
It would so enrich their lives.

I think what you've accomplished here is brilliant! Long live the bard!

Beatrice Boyle (Grandma Bea)