Poems Read at a Community Reading
Initiated by Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky
Who has not seen the film Shakespeare In Love?
One of the main characters, Christopher Marlowe, died two years before the time
appointed him by Hollywood for the film. Never mind, it is a splendid film; he
was a good poet. You all know at least the first line...
The Passionate
Shepherd To His Love
(Christopher Marlowe)
Marlowe was actually fourteen years younger than Shake-speare.
He belonged to a group of poets and writers who were bent on dragging their
mother tongue kicking and screaming out of the middle ages to meet the bright
demands of Renaissance thought.
Since they didn’t have the Internet, these nobles and
gentlemen wrote madly to each other. For instance, the Bard answered Marlowe’s
piece with the following number in which Philomel means nightingale, and Phoebus
is, the last time I looked; the Sun.
The Nymph’s
Reply to the Shepherd
(Ignoto)
Later, when Shakespeare learned a little more about
women, things began to heat up. He used a number of euphemisms. Actually his
people called themselves Eupheuists, and Shake-speare (that is, the Earl of
Oxford) was their fearless leader. These terms were so popular that a modern
handbook such as Eric Partridge’s Shakespeare’s Bawdy, in order to
decipher them, needs to use the word "pudenda" forty or fifty
times. The adults in the room will get most of these, but one even I had to look
up. An Elizabethan lady, on hearing the word "rose" in this particular
context would be seen squirming in her seat. Oh, yes, and "dight"
means "dressed".
Another Of
The Same Nature Made Since
(Ignoto)
Finally, in order to show how things have not
measureably changed, we have updated this form of romantic lyric. It is intended
both as an antidote to the current septically correct stanzas of four letter
words, and a thank you for the interest of our reigning Poet Laureate.
For This Relief
Much Thanks
(N dePlume)
In our wallows of Rap we have forgotten that our
betters once knew how to raise earthy ideas to a plane high enough for everyone
to enjoy them.
