Poetry Challenge #293-Brush Up Your Shakespeare
Everyone has heard of William Shakespeare, whose birthday could be today since the exact date isn’t known. Records show he was baptized in April 1564. (If you know how or why April 26th is the date we celebrate let us know.)
We know the Bard wrote at least 39 dramatic plays, many of which are still regularly performed.
And, according to Oxford, added 1700 words to the English language. (There’s some debate about the veracity of that number but he’s credited with 420 for sure.) Here’s a list—No. Stop! Don’t look at the list now. Save the clicking for later. NOW…It’s Shakespeare’s day, join the celebration!
Hit it Cole! Brush Up Your Shakespeare, start quoting him now… from Kiss Me Kate:
Poetry Challenge #293
Brush Up Your Shakespeare
Maybe you have a favorite line from one of his plays or sonnets:
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (Sonnet XVIII)
“To be, or not to be: that is the question” (Hamlet)
“But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?” (Romeo & Juliet)
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day” (Macbeth)“All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players:”
Let’s celebrate Shakespeare by putting one of his lines in a poem of your own. You can use the whole line as the first, last, or middle line of your new poem.
Or, if that doesn’t work for you, try writing one word on each line the way you would for an acrostic poem and begin your poem’s lines with the word from the quote.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, Shakespeare It!
Once you’ve finished your poem, reward yourself with a movie. There are zillions of Shakespeare inspired movies out there. Or popped some corn and go for pure fun: Shakespeare in Love!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2400+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
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All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
