Full Fathom Five -- William Shakespeare

(Poem #16) Full Fathom Five Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: Ding-dong. Hark! now I hear them - ding-dong, bell. -- William Shakespeare

from 'The Tempest'.

Most people are familiar with Shakespeare as a great playwright,
unquestionably the greatest who ever lived. What's not so commonly
realized, though, is that he was also a wonderful poet, not just of
words of sounds, but of meanings and ideas. In addition to the sonnets,
he filled his plays with lyrical songs (like today's poem) and marvelous
flights of imagery; the Bard's language is every bit as beautiful as his
insights are deep.

'The Tempest' was Shakespeare's last play (unless you count 'Henry
VIII', which has recently been added to the canon), and it marks a
departure in style and content from the great tragedies. Sadly, I
haven't studied the play in detail... I just enjoy the words as they
are, without delving into their deeper levels of significance.

One final digression: many people think Shakespeare is hopelessly
archaic and/or completely inaccessible. This is simply not true. I
myself had the enormous good fortune of studying 'Macbeth' exhaustively
while in high school, and it was one of the most rewarding explorations
of my life. You should all try to spend some time with the Bard, using a
good annotated edition of his plays - believe me, it'll be worth it.

thomas.