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Of Byron and Shakespeare
By Charmaine Tanti
Being a literature major, it probably comes as no surprise that I love poetry. For years, I searched for the soundtrack album of the TV series Beauty and the Beast (starring Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton) because it includes a recital of some of my favourite poems. When I found it, it was one of the happiest days of my life! Even though I love poetry, it's not something I read regularly. Rather, I get bouts of poetry-mania when I read one poem after the other. I've also been known to quote Shakespeare's 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day' sonnet in my sleep, and William Blake during a delirious bout of high fever. That one might have been 'Tiger, tiger burning bright ...'. Great poets know how to make magic with words. They make you appreciate the individual sounds that make up every word, they make you listen to the music of language. Consider, for example, one of my favourite passages from Shakespeare's Macbeth: To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. Each word here has a purpose. It beats the relentless, heavy rhythm of a futile life. You can't help feeling Macbeth's weariness of life when you read it (if you read it properly, that is). On the other hand, Byron's 'She walks in Beauty' makes you fall in love with the lady. It's magnificent that a man like Byron - mad, bad and dangerous to know, as Lady Caroline Lamb said of him, and given to satire - could be touched by a good woman and immortalise her in words like these. Whenever I have to dress up elegantly or go on stage to perform, I always quote the opening lines of this poem to remind myself of how I should look: SHE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes... Another poem I fell in love with, thanks to Four Weddings and a Funeral, is W H Auden's Stop All the Clocks. It's terribly sad, but it captures the feelings of loss and emptiness at the death of a loved one. That's another thing I love about poetry: good poets manage to use the words we all know to say the things we all feel in a memorable, awesome way. Having made my way through some of the great poets in literature, I really must mention another of my favourites, someone who inspires me in my writing for children: Roald Dahl. His poems just crack me up, they're great to use during drama lessons, and they've got that original take on well-loved tales that's so amazing and funny. How about Goldilocks No sooner are you down the road
Than Goldilocks, that little toad
That nosey thieving little louse,
Comes sneaking in your empty house....' Cinderella Then midnight struck. She shouted,'Heck!
I've got to run to save my neck!'
The Prince cried, 'No! Alas! Alack!'
He grabbed her dress to hold her back.
As Cindy shouted, 'Let me go!'
The dress was ripped from head to toe. She ran out in her underwear,
And lost one slipper on the stair. or Red Riding Hood The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
She whips a pistol from her knickers.
She aims it at the creature's head,
And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead. Not a poem for animal activists, but so much fun to read! |
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Thank you for sharing these wonderful thoughts on Byron, Shakespeare and poetry, Charmaine.
Very enjoyable read!!
Best wishes.
Frederick
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Glad you liked it :)
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This intel was contributed by eris771
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May, 2012
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