The story is as old as time
And has been told by many
You have told it anew
And we hear it
As if we are hearing it
For the very first time.
Years older than you
Your wife conceived your child
Months before your marriage.
A poacher in others' gardens
An angler in another's pond
A truant and mischievous boy
You were a disappointment
And needed a fresh ground to graze
You left your village on the Avon
And came to a great market place
Where to earn one's living
One had to be a good businessman
Your beginning was modest –
Mending others' wares
And vending them in new packings.
The market was expanding,
The demand was growing
And though you were a novice artificer
Your goods sold well.
The buyers had their choices,
The market had its norms
And you had to make your both ends meet.
By and by you grew bold
And sharpened your skill
Sculpting things not seen before
Not even by kings and queens.
Sometimes you adapted
Sometimes you defied
To break the bondages
Of choices and norms and needs
And lifted yourself and others
Above those mundane compulsions
A great entertainer and a successful man
You retired a man of substance
And returned to your Anne.
Your story is not out of the ordinary
And is as good as any that ends well.
But is it all?
Was this the sum total of your being?
What about your dreams
Your illusions and visions
And the things that set your mind ablaze?
Is the forest of Arden
Without a local name or a habitation?
Was Anne only a Hathaway
Neither a Juliet nor a Rosalind?
Didn't you meet her often
In lonely village lanes or behind hedges
Or in the backyards of her father's cottage?
If it was in darkness
Didn't you wish there was a moon?
Like Romeo
Were you not afraid
To be caught by her kinsmen?
As mad as Orlando
Didn't you compose in your madness
A doggerel or two
And then hang or carve them upon a tree?
In the city of London
You saw courtly ladies of sophistication
Didn't you wish your rustic Anne
Were a flirt, a jade and your torment
Or a dark lady
To be courted by a sonnet every moment?
Didn't you wish her to be
Not merely a Fulvia nor an Octavia
The wifely virtue's very pattern
But the Cleopatra of Mark Antony
Whom age could not wither
Nor could custom stale whose infinite variety
And where other women cloy the appetite
She would make you more hungry
Where she would satisfy you most?
The most mysterious of men
You never let us know
If your Anne was all these
Or they were the fantasies of your mind -
A midsummer night's dream.
-------------------
Author notes
Written June 5th, 2006
A contest entry
- Options options options by Heartbeatsxfading.
450 points, ended June 2, 2007, 18 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Pre-Write Only by SandraMVeinot.
345 points, ended July 6, 2007, 8 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Contest number (2) New options! by Lady Lacrymosa.
475 points, ended December 9, 2007, 11 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - The Celebration Of A Woman by Angel w o Wings by Angel w o Wings.
425 points, ended December 27, 2007, 14 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - anything & prewrites!, as short, long, freewritten or rhyming as you wanna be! by wendymolly.
690 points, ended June 14, 2008, 55 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Surprise me by the-gifted.
900 points, ended April 8, 18 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Prewrites!!! Come take a look! by CentrifugalCorpse.
1250 points, ended September 7, 224 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 22 of 22
-
nice poem, thanks for entering and good luck
-
As much Genius as I believe I have ever felt in a poem. Alot of your personal self as well as history in it's many meanings went into this, I am absolutely amazed! your a Finalist!
-
Very nice poem, thank you for entering.
-
a beautiful tribute to an amazing man.
Shakespeare could never truly be summed up into a single explanation,but this poem does quite nicely.
I love the way that you introduced people and other bits of Shakespearean prose into the piece.
great write.
-
Lots of literary allusions which no doubt went over the heads of many readers. Ah well, such is the penalty for being educated.
-
-
Shakespeare is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, love of my life. He is a wonder which can hardly be explained. The commentator should be thankful I was not very harsh in my reply. I must thank you for reading and commenting on this poem.
-
-
'Shakespeare in love'...
I like Shakespeare poetry up to a point...then I tier of it sadly....It was all my daughter for a time wrote upon and I kind of got my full of it...
Anyways;as always i thank you for sharing and letting me and the rest of us read your words....I now think upon them...
-
-
It is indeed very sad that the judge herself does not know how to write correct English. And in one single short sentence there are more than one spelling mistakes! On her admission that Shakespeare tires her - well I don't want to comment.
-
-
Sad, but not at all surprising. In fact there are 3 errors in that comment! You were very polite to only mention one.
-
-
-
Good
This is very good, I loved how it told a story. Though if you do not put the option number and razorblade kisses in the authors notes I will be forced to remove this poem.
♥ Surrender ♥ -
-
The option number obviously is 3 which I forgot to put in.
-
-
Thank you.
-
amazing work brilliant talent
-
very good.infect excellent...didn't like it just loved it
-
a wonderful poem/story. Great job! - MKN
-
One of the most tragic characters in history. As a boy he does not seem to have had a good reputation in the village, yet this lady gave her love to him, because she was the first to discover anything worthy in him. Macaulay has spoken very harshly about Mrs. Johnson, yet she was the first to discover anything of worth in that penurious ugly deformed monster who is one of the most heroic and fascinating characters that England has produced. It should be borne in mind that both the ladies were elder than their illustrious husbands. Thanks to one and all for reading and commenting.
-
you done awesome write!
The quality of this!!! highly enjoyable, I found it fascinating to read and picture in my mind old Will and his Anne, how they may have related to one another. He did not think of HER, I feel that she was more of a mother: someone so close to his own skin and the mundane periods of his life, that she didn't feature in his imaginative world per se... except as a subconscious and formative influence. His "diva" ladies need to be remote and exquisite creatures, never familiar never "family". Wives often get absorbed into the "family" part of a mans psyche hence they are not the romantic object. This is sad though, one needs to read alot of Germaine Greer to feel better about the situation!
There are some really pretty parts in this, I like pretty:
(divine
!!!Garden>>>>>pond>>>>fresh ground to graze>>>>>>>>You retired a man of substance, And returned to your Anne >>>> flirt >> jade >>>>she would make you more hungry<<<<<<<...
I picture Shakespeare from this as a greedy duck with a shiny green head!
Those lines where you ask if Anne was more to him... there is a great sense of optimism, what if history really was like that!?!
It's nice to give Anne a happy-ever-after; maybe she was THE love of Will's life
Edited on Jun 05, 6:58 p.m. because 'to quote my fav bits'. -
This is really cool. I enjoyed your obvious expertise. I especially love the intro stanza, very bardic!
-
Excellent
This is an intelligent, perceptive and very pleasing poem. I like very much the way you weave fact and poetic speculation.
Excellent work.
Regards,
Bill -
unique piece of work here. it was a pleasure to read. i cant really come up with anything that i found wrong with it, brilliant poem.
-
This is so cool, very original too. I've always wondered the same thing about Shakespeare -- Anne, from the available records, didn't match his descriptions of "an ideal lover" in his plays. Great use of rhetorical questions in this piece.
-
wow when i read the title i'll be honest i thought it was going to be a cheese love poem taken off the movie... Was i ever wrong. I love how you took what is known about Shakespear and persented it beautifully and then expaned on what he might have been byond the facts. I love how you made him first a thinking feeling person instead of a master author. Genius work ... and maybe the real shakespear is still writing.
Adding your comment:
1 - 22 of 22
