Shakespeare’s Birthday
23 April 1564
He was
not of an age, but for all time! |
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| Ben Jonson (1623) | ||
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| This figure, that thou here seest put, It was for gentle Shakespeare cut; Wherein the graver had a strife With Nature, to out-do the life: O could he but have drawn his wit As well in brass, as he hath hit His face; the print would then surpass All that was ever writ in brass. But since he cannot, reader, look Not on his picture, but his book. |
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Ben Jonson 1623 |
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| An engraving of the Bard by Martin Droeshout (from the title page of the First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays 1623) |
| Will knew persona violates the soul, If from the wearer his own flaws it hides: For only he who owns his shadow’s whole, And he alone who’s whole the truth provides. Thus, while an actor Will for good remained, As poet-playwright he explored the heart: This basic extravert was therefore trained, By seeking truth, to grasp and show each part. In short, in Arden – the imagination, That spans the conscious and unconscious spheres; The fertile womb of individuation – He found himself and overcame his fears. |
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This man who featured all the world on stage |
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Michael Peach |