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Lessons from Shakespeare

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Lessons from Shakespeare in 4 parts Here’s a song of tragedies Four plays from bygone times Shakespeare did the penmanship For these heroic crimes. Hamlet was a stately prince King Lear a royal dad Othello was a noble man Macbeth was just plain bad. From these stories we can learn That great men can have flaws And even in this century We all can crash and burn. 1. The Prince of Denmark Come on now and pull your socks up Pull yourself together, Think of your Ophelia who needs you to get better. Will you be or won’t you be - Just make your mind up quick, Before the others bring you down With sword of poison trick. Alas too late revenge is nigh And not the one you thought For old Polonius is dead And you’re the one whose sought. (So take some comfort in the thought That Hamlet came to know That nothing’s either good or bad But thinking makes it so.) 2. The Moor of Venice My love and I are just one flesh My Desdemona true The very thought of losing her Just make me feel plain blue They say I have a jealous mind My one and only flaw I think the fault entirely hers Perhaps I should make sure. My first mate says it’s really so So what should I believe? He saw her with his own good eyes Give him her handkerchief. (Iago’s plot to bring him down Succeeded to a T Perhaps Othello’s not so great A captain of the sea.) 3. The Tragedy of King Lear When you die what will you do With all your goods and chattel? Hand them out in fairest way Avoid a family battle? Sort it out now while you have Your faculties intact Divide your kingdom while you can Who gets the dog and cat? Even so it may not mean Your life ends with a party For sharper than a serpent’s tongue Are daughters who are crafty (But still approach your death with skill As King Lear tried to do At least that was a his principle Though tragedy ensued.) 4. The Scottish Play I love my wife she wants to put A crown upon my head. She tells me that it is my fate? There must be some blood shed. And so I tried, upon my life I did what I have done But the dagger that I slew him with Returns to haunt my mind. Yet now I’m king, my wife is queen What more is there to do? My wife appears to lose her wits I’m sure that she’ll pull through. (So it seemed to both of them The way was clearly shown But by snuffing out another’s life Macbeth destroyed his own.) Hamlet was a stately prince King Lear a royal dad Othello was a noble man Macbeth was just plain bad. And through these stories we can see Some universal themes But more importantly than that A world of poetry.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2025




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Date: 6/27/2025 11:34:00 PM
Thanks for sharing this... exposing your thoughts through your unique poetic style. Welcome to Poetry Soup. I welcome you with the love of the Lord, expressed by John 3:16 of the Bible, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Be blessed.
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Date: 6/25/2025 5:36:00 AM
Awesome! Nice rhymes and meter and not easy to tackle multiple themes in one poem. Welcome to PS Annabel
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Woody Avatar
Tom Woody
Date: 6/25/2025 9:14:00 AM
Nice idea!
Fraser Avatar
Annabel Fraser
Date: 6/25/2025 6:00:00 AM
Thanks Tom. I've entered it into a lyric contest in July. It was really a light-hearted attempt to get teenagers interested in Shakespeare.
Woody Avatar
Tom Woody
Date: 6/25/2025 5:37:00 AM
PS. This would have been perfect for my audio contest

Book: Reflection on the Important Things