On Shakespeare and two original poems
From Scene III by Friar Laurence addressing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet:
“Hast thou slain Tybalt? wilt thou slay thyself?
And stay thy lady too that lives in thee,
By doing damned hate upon thyself?
Why rail’st thou on thy birth, the heaven, and earth?
Since birth, and heaven, and earth, all three do meet
In thee at once; which thou at once wouldst lose.
Fie, fie, thou shamest thy shape, thy love, thy wit;
Which, like a usurer, abound’st in all,
And usest none in that true use indeed
Which should bedeck thy shape, thy love, thy wit:
Thy noble shape is but a form of wax,
…
What, rouse thee, man! thy Juliet is alive,
For whose dear sake thou wast but lately dead;
There art thou happy: Tybalt would kill thee,
But thou slew’st Tybalt; there are thou happy too:
The law that threaten’d death becomes thy friend
And turns it to exile; there art thou happy:
A pack of blessings lights up upon thy back;”
Two thoughts
Baz Luhrmann’s movie version of the play did a really good job with the casting, performance, and visuals of the Friar Laurence character. The actor is Pete Postlewaite, and he seems to have the gravitas to counter-balance the youth and over-enthusiasm of Romeo.
The other thing is the Friar’s speech to Romeo at this point of the play, which is longer in the text than it is in Luhrmann’s film, seems to deal with the issue of gratitude and what one of my grad school teacher’s described as the idea “you’re happy but you don’t know it.” How do you realize you are happy and fortunate?
I think one of the reasons the play is so famous, other than young romance, is it involves a combination of hostile environment and individuals’ choices, fate and free will. Tragedy.
“Math Lesson” by yours truly
“What’s poor times poor?”
“Even less money.”
“What’s s’more times s’more?”
“Maybe too much sugar.”
“What’s gore times gore?”
“More blood and guts.”
“What’s snore times snore?”
“A good night’s sleep.”
“What’s tore times tore?”
“Methinks a sewing machine is needed,”
“What’s more times more?”
“Don’t ignore. And take it easy, pal.”
“What’s floor times floor?”
“I don’t really drink that much and didn’t fall on the floor 16 times.”
“What’s or times or?”
“Don’t be ambiguous despite tales of yore.”
“Okay, back to math. What’s four times for?”
“(She was only) 16.”
“A Reversal” by yours truly
“Better sorry than safe,” said the…