i won at this contest: http://allpoetry.com/contest/2463797, and i am paying it forward. the prompt for this contest, is to write your own version of one of Shakespeare's most famous poems about the different stages of life.
no religion, erotica, or dirty pretty (it should be in the same form as the poem below!)
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."
By William Shakespeare
have fun, and if you win gold, please PIF also.
i am now allowing pre-writes because i have gotten so few entries, and someone has asked me to let them in. as i told him, they have to be meant for this contest as if you were brilliant and knew i was going to make this contest.
no religion, erotica, or dirty pretty (it should be in the same form as the poem below!)
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."
By William Shakespeare
have fun, and if you win gold, please PIF also.
i am now allowing pre-writes because i have gotten so few entries, and someone has asked me to let them in. as i told him, they have to be meant for this contest as if you were brilliant and knew i was going to make this contest.
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on November 9
- Rewards: Gold: 500
- Final notes: thanks for entering
Contest Winners
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A stage? How quaint. If Will had lived today
and seen the ragged chatter of the trains,by Carnivale 28 lines, 8 comments, on Oct 28 8:30 AM. In Life, Age, Importance, Shakespeare, Sad
Gold trophy winner
• Commented on by judge. [remove]
Entries [3]
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by Black Narcissus 28 lines, 3 comments, on Oct 23 3:17 AM. In Weird• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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What the heck? This contest looks hard, but I love challenges...
BOOKMARKED!!! -
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haha
we did it in school today, and i am only in 8th grade, so it's not meant to be too challenging. i am glad you are entering, can't wait to read it! -
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Didn't say I was entering.
I'm in 8th grade too.
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ooh love this idea! bookmarked
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Well, it is good to see that in some schools they still teach Shakespeare (there was some debate a few years ago in the teaching profession as to whether his works are still "relevant" !!!)
Though my joy is modified by the fact that you refer to this passage as "one of Shakespeare's most famous poems". For the use of the word "poem" suggests that you read it as a separate - and self-standing item of literature, whereas in fact it is a speech (spoken by the melancholy character Jaques) from the play "As You Like It!".
This makes me fear that you are not studying the whole play in class, but simply read this one passage in an anthology. Which is a pity since even "set-piece" speeches of this kind have much more impact and meaning when viewed in their proper context.
If you are not reading the whole play in school, may I suggest that you get a copy and read it. If you get a good edition with notes you should not find it too difficult... we studied it in class when I was your age. And, of course, if you have any chance to see the play itself, do so. I believe that a few years back the BBC started making videos of all Shakespeare's plays. Perhaps you could borrow one from a library?
I wish you luck with your competition - though I have to say I do not approve of the "Pay it Forward" concept.
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Pay It Forward....
What Exactly is it? I mean, I could hazard a guess... But I don't want to be wrong...
And I've been on this site for ages. You would have thought I'd have picked it up by now... -
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um...
pif basically means that if you win gold in a contest labeled as such, you have to host a pif contest using some of the points you earned. does that make any sense? -
"Pay it forward" is - so far as I understand it - akind of clappy-happy idea that if you do a good turn to someone today, someone will do you a good turn tomorrow - (which is contrary to what I understand to be Christian ethics, which surely teaches that one should do good without any consideration of reqard or payback),
In the Allpoetry context it means that the winner of a PIF competition has to use all the points so gained to run another competition immediately. Well, although there is after all nothing else one can do with one's points EXCEPT award them to other people (apart from the very dubious practice of using them to "feature" one's work - which to me looks like the first step towards vanity publishing) - even so.. I feel that having won one's points one should be allowed to dispose of them when and how one chooses! PIF competititions for me carry the moral pressures and overtones of chain letters - hence I will not have anything to do with them! -
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okay
i didn't ask you to enter did i?
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