Were I one half as great as Cymbeline,
Or had the Rubicon with Caesar crossed,
Then thou wouldst take my hand, and as my Queen
Wouldst find, in love, no gentle labour lost;
Had I, upon this warm, midsummer’s night,
The craft to summon tempests in the dark,
In dreams wouldst ride, and nothing thee afright,
Upon the Nile, in Cleopatra’s barque.
I am not great – a rude mechanical
At best – thy learning is all Greek to me;
I cannot sweetly sing a madrigal,
Nor summon up the art of minstrelsy.
My father’s name – mine own! – I cannot spell;
But shouldst thou love me, then Will all end well!
In a list
- Sonnets, sonnets, and more bloody sonnets • next in list
- Homages to other poets and authors... • next in list
- Not Bad • next in list
- Published works • next in list
- Wee yellow vases • next in list
A contest entry
- Poetic Form Options Contest by Aerden.
600 points, ended April 8, 2008, 7 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - MUSIC-RELATED POEMS URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR LIVE SHOW... by Vera Rich.
1275 points, ended July 30, 2008, 36 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - CELEBRATING POETRY AND POETS- ONE-DAY competition, "PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN" WORK ONLY by Vera Rich.
6000 points, ended November 26, 2008, 127 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Shakespearean Sonnet Competition: "PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN" WORK ONLY. by Vera Rich.
490 points, ended June 15, 51 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - CELEBRATE 17 NOVEMBER- FOR AWARD-WINNING POEMS OF THE PAST YEAR by Vera Rich.
700 points, ended November 24, 95 entries
• next poem in this contest, • Add to finalists list, or remove from contest
Comments
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You've covered everything here- from humor to humour...
oh fiddlesticks- you're going to make me read Shakespeare to appreciate your humor-humour here (and good incentive- first one I've had yet, I do believe)...
alright, let me do my research first:
Cymbeline: is a Loreena McKennett song from the album 'The Visit'
Caesar: nickname for an American mafia don
Rubicon: is the West Coast flagship restaurant of restaurateur Drew Nieporent
Queen: operatic glam rock band from the 1970's
Barque: is a publishing house that is not currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts for review
Madrigal: We are a small family owned winery located in the Napa Valley
Minstrelsy: there are many to choose from, I'll pick... Ragtime...
OK, I'm ready to interpret now... let's see...
If you were half as great as Loreena McKennett's song, or if a mafia don dined at Drew Nieporent's flagship restaurant, then your lover would become your 70's glam operatic rock band; moreover, if you could summon storms, you would pass away your time dreaming in Cleopatra's publishing house; finally, you cannot sing after several bottles of Napa Valley wine nor afford to hire a ragtime band, nor even spell your own last name (understandable after several bottles)...
so... maybe the title should be "If Shakespeare Were Several Bottles of Napa Valley Wine" ...hmmm... that one remains to be written, I believe...
Well, had fun! lol thanks...
(and once again I have successfully avoided reading Shakespeare...)
(and put off mowing the lawn...)
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Not bad. There are only a couple of references you got wrong.
Rubicon: here in the UK it's a fruit drink.
Ceasar: a salad.
And, damn, there's a typo! The line should of course have read "Or had the Rubicon with Caesar tossed."
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How gratifying 'tis to read your lines
So many references here to Will the bard
And right it is a virtual trophy shines
Below this golden quatorzainic shard
For Shakespeare was the master of the form
And knew just how to craft his words that way
So often, when we're feeling rather warm
We shall compare us to a summer's day
When waves we see approach a pebbled shore
We feel our minutes hasten to their end
And all those plays! From one who is no more
But yet we still think of him as a friend
Who made our language what it is today: -
Yours is a bonny sonnet, by the way.
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Ans likewise, what a bonny comment!
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Some return! See you at Wimbledon, big man!
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I had to read this againn- because I just couldn't believe it is possible to transcend the dreariness and blahness of the age we live in to be as creative as was past centuries- and yet you did it! You floored me with the immense creativity and careful attention to detail and the boldness to express yourself. A true poem instead of the so much emo stuff you see and that I myself am guilty of cause I knew no other way to write except to draw from my human feelings. I feel like after reading such a poem and knowing that someone in our day and age actually created this from scratch that there are other sources to draw from other than human feelings- that those can be transcended and one can tap into the real creative force that exists and is just waiting for a person to recognize it.
Anyway I am rambeling but thank you for the inspiration and changing my paradigm.
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I don't think you are far wrong about drawing on feelings. This is, in fact, one of my more superficial poems, written purely for fun, out of love for an archaic style and language; I have simply loaded it with reference after reference to Shakespeare's plays, to the fact that he spelt his own surname in several different ways, and ended the whole thing with a pun on his given name Will. It's a celebration, if you like.
But back to feelings: given that a poet's job is to make a collection of words more than the sum of its parts, our own human experiences and the way we feel about them are all we have to draw on. I once said that the metier of a poet involves mining deep for those feelings, and deeper still until they hurt, and then to express them. But it all depends on what one starts out to write.
The poem above is not devoid of feeling; it's simply that the feeling involved is the urge to chuckle at great things.
Thank you for your comments. - greatly appreciated.
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wow genius.
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Whoa! Thank you!
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Another excellent entry for "Celebrating poetry and poets"... It is little gems like this (sorry, lettuce-growers if I am infringing your copyright! that make the judge's task worthwhile!)
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Thank you for entering this in my "Celebrating poetry and poets" competition. It is neat and witty, and I was sorry to have to turn it down in a previous competition when it seemed a little too peripheral to the theme. This time it is right on target andI look forward to rereading it tomorrow when I hope to make my final assessment.
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It was fun to write, I recall.
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A neatly turned sonnet... But no obvious allusion here to music that I can see... The echo in the title is not really sufficient for a programme of poems on music...Sorry!
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Lines 12 and 13 make reference, Vera, but no matter - I only entered this to make up the numbers.
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Point taken - (though I think you mean lines 11 and 12)... But even so -, the focus of the poem is NOT on music, so for this particular competition (and the related "live show" it does seem rather too peripheral. However, it is something we might well like to use in a different context.
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Vera, notwithstanding the contest is closed, would you like me to have a quick look through my collection to see if there is another one you might use?
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Silver Winner
Mairi--I enjoyed this so much. I adored all of the wonderful Shakespearean references and the way you made the poem resemble his style of including his own name. Thank you for submitting this! -
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And thank you for the silver.
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Responsum
S hrew tamed, All's Well, though here is Much Ado !
A ntony and Cleopatra met
N o Rape, no Tragedy, since each stayed true,
G rave born, like Romeo and Juliet.
T hus Richard, John and Harry had preferred
O ne History where each could heed thy call !
M easure for Measure Tempest's threat, unheard
A ll envy's Comic Error is withall !
I, Phoenix, have to Turtle dove supplied
R esponse as Pilgrim Passionate here's signed,
I nscribed Adonis with Venus allied,
B lunt Lover's Complaint in neatest verse aligned, -
HE re read Plays' Sonnets' subtle sequent frame
AG eless thoughts shown, - who's grown, who's stayed the same ?
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I AM TOTALLY GOBSMACKED!
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Clever, witty and delightful--and a pretty good sonnet as well, Lol. Love the play on Shakespearean references. This definitely deserves a trophy, but more importantly, it should be read by anyone wanting to know how sophisticated poetry is written.
Great stuff,
Bill
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........you were not serious when you
said you couldn't write, were you???
I would give anything to write like
this, my sweetest friend. love, lane
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Deadly serious, Lane.
And if all you could do was write "like this" when a contest turned up, how would it feel?
{sigh} Just feeling down, I guess. You are very kind for your lovely comment
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This is pure perfection in poetic challenge. I love to write in the old language and I am always chastised for it. I admire your courage and especially your talent for presenting this piece.
Cymbeline: the play based on an early Celtic King.
Crossing the Rubicon: alea iacta est; Julius Cesar
Line 4: Play: Love's Labours Lost
Line 5: Play: Midsummer Night's Dream
Line 6: Play; The Tempest
Line 6: Sonnet 116 line 6
Line 11: The Merry Wives of Windsor
Couplet: his own name.
I got seven am I close?
Love,
Amera♥
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Well line 11 might have been a red herring, because I can't place such a line in TMMoW, but otherwise you aren't doing too badly.
There is no reference that I know of in Shakespeare to Ceasar's crossing the Rubicon, but his name alone is sufficient reference.
I see you want to claim a double reference for "tempest", and you're a clever girl!
There is certainly one more play, and two more quotations to find.
M
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NO! Magnificent effort
I just love the way you explore poetry and how your fine talent suits the need of the poetic moment. This is a very fine effort of classical poetry, which is no small matter... DW
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Och I'm a hack without a single original thought. I have no voice of my own, no creativity. All I can seem to do is react to contest prompts. Somebody needs to push a button to get me writing.
But thank you very much for your kind comment.
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I am the same way--I need sourdough starter. AllPoetry has done more for my productivity than anything else ever has. I have written more poetry in the past two weeks (since I joined AP) than I have in the past two years. So don't feel bad.
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Well it's certainly a place where one can flex one's muscles a wee bit.
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Great effort!
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Absolutely delightful! I loved all of the Shakespeare references, and I counted at least nine. I'm sure I missed a few. Thank you so much!
And you reminded me that I meant to include another poem form in the contest--the type of poems that Amergin or Taliesin wrote (I am the stag of seven tines). That type can also make utter nonsense sound deeply profound.
Thanks for your sonnet, and best of luck in the contest!
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I can't remember what they are called, but I know the one you quote is supposed to refer to the Celtic deity Cernunnos.
Thank you for the comment.
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I'm going for about a dozen, but the trouble with the Bard is he wrote nearly every thing that isn't from the AV
Beautiful sonnet. Stupid review that as if a Mairi sonnet wouldn't be!!!
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OK, name and substantiate them!
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not from the train, when I get home, Cymbeline, Rubicon, Caesar, midsummer nght, labour lost, Tempests, Cleo, thy learning is all Greek to me, Will all end well is of course 2! Inability to spell his own name and a rude mechanical were my 12, but references have to wait.
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You are getting there, I think. I shall have to check whether Rubicon is referenced in "Julius Caesar".
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I wasn't certain.
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