SHAKESPEARE’S GREAT STAGE

Whatever genius is, he had that gift
Of godliness which could imagine lives
And lines and plots in language deft and swift
That towers over time and still survives,
Thus rivaling the Eternal in his scope.
Not only for his age, but for all time
(As Jonson claimed) he satisfied the hope
Of all poetic minds—to live in rhyme.
Yet more than that, he rivaled history
And passed philosophy by telling tales
That live more vivid than reality,
Instructing when no lecturing avails.
His Globe became a microcosmic stage
Where folly struts, but wisdom shines more sage.

*