Poetry Friday :: Shakespeare…almost

We’ve been searching around trying to find a good, daily poetry anthology–one that can live on the table and be counted on to have a good, approachable poem no matter where you open.  We’ve been living with 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day edited by Billy Collins.  This week we found a doozy by R. S. Gwynn!

Shakespearean Sonnet

With a first line taken from the tv listings

A man is haunted by his father’s ghost.wildflowers
Boy meets girl while feuding families fight.
A Scottish king is murdered by his host.
Two couples get lost on a summer night.
A hunchback murders all who block his way.
A ruler’s rivals plot against his life.
A fat man and a prince make rebels pay.
A noble Moor has doubts about his wife.
An English king decides to conquer France.
A duke learns that his best friend is a she.
A forest sets the scene for this romance.
An old man and his daughters disagree.
A Roman leader makes a big mistake.
A sexy queen is bitten by a snake.

How many plays did you recognize?  The children got all but the two plays we haven’t studied!  Pretty good, I think!  Here are a few more poetry links to brighten your Friday:

8 Comments

  1. Did you see the poem Carolyn Weber posted today? Fantastic. I’ll look at your resources … I’m not really good at listening to things, but I keep meaning to get to Read Aloud Revival. She has talked with so many great people.

    1. Love the lines “somewhere long ago / joy was chosen for me”
      Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Dawn!
      ♥ ♥ ♥ Happy Valentine’s Day ♥ ♥ ♥

    1. We didn’t get Richard II…RichardII?! I really have no idea what that play’s about! So glad the whole family played along. That’s how we did it here too!

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