Friday Poetry Blogging

[coraa]

It's Shakespeare, and it's a cliche, but the man could turn a beautiful phrase. I won't pretend he was without problems (hello, Taming of the Shrew! hello, The Merchant of Venice!), but I love this piece from Henry V as pure poetry, and also for its commentary on the limitations of art and the commensurate powers of imagination.

O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire
Crouch for employment. But pardon, and gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that have dared
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object: can this cockpit hold
The vasty fields of France? or may we cram
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt?
O, pardon! since a crooked figure may
Attest in little place a million;
And let us, ciphers to this great accompt,
On your imaginary forces work.
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
Are now confined two mighty monarchies,
Whose high upreared and abutting fronts
The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder:
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts;
Into a thousand parts divide on man,
And make imaginary puissance;
Think when we talk of horses, that you see them
Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;
For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings,
Carry them here and there; jumping o'er times,
Turning the accomplishment of many years
Into an hour-glass: for the which supply,
Admit me Chorus to this history;
Who prologue-like your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.

               - William Shakespeare

Comments

[morganlf.livejournal.com]

Bah...if I ever have to type the word Agincourt again, it will be too soon! (Subject of my last diss. chapter.)

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Ha! I know that feeling. (Did I ever tell you about when I was finishing my thesis in college, and my keyboard's 'a' key was dying, so I kept accidentally writing sentences like "Chrlemgne's dministrtive policies resulted in more centrlized Imperil power in the Frnkish lnds"? By the end of that, if I never had to type 'Charlemagne' again, it would have been too soon.)

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Derek Jacobi reciting this in the Branagh film is just so wonderful.