By William Shakespeare
Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lov'st thou that which thou receiv'st not gladly,
Or else receiv'st with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tunèd sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother,
Who, all in one, one pleasing note do sing;
Whose speechless song being many, seeming one,
Sings this to thee: "Thou single wilt prove none."
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lov'st thou that which thou receiv'st not gladly,
Or else receiv'st with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tunèd sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother,
Who, all in one, one pleasing note do sing;
Whose speechless song being many, seeming one,
Sings this to thee: "Thou single wilt prove none."
Wow Stephen! I am so impressed that you used the poetry of Shakespeare! I believe this is a great choice, hats off to you, for the theme of music. This seems like a typical Shakespeare poem, as you mentioned in your explication, as it uses iambic pentameter. But! This poem is anything but typical! I believe many younglings are found in the position of wanting to stay spontaneous and irresponsible their whole life, and that is what this poem deals with. One must grow up, get married, and have a family as this poem declares. Music plays a great role in this by contrasting it with war in the line "Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?" Great job kiddo!
ReplyDeleteGreat choice, Stephen! I didn't know music could be described through words, and Shakespeare does it unbelievably well. I like how he compares it to "a child and a happy mother". Good work!
ReplyDeleteExcellent choice of poem, Stephen. Shakespeare is one of the best poets of all time. His work is challenging to read and even more challenging to understand. Kudos on using it! As for the poem itself, I love its references to marraige, and children (By unions married, do offend thine ear/They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds)and (Mark how one string, sweet husband to another/Strikes each in each by mutual ordering/Resembling sire and child and happy mother) - as I believe that both of these things are just as complex, beautiful, and equally heartbreaking as music. It truly allows Shakespeare's extensive genius and understanding of the human experience to shine through.
ReplyDeleteStephen, this is a good but kind of strange poem, in my opinion. this is not what i associate with shakespeare, but it is just as ornate and filled with imagery as his more famous works. i also find the pairing of music and marriage strange. good work Stephen
ReplyDeleteThis is one of Shakespeare's more delicate poems in the sense of relationships beyond rivalry. Albeit more difficult to capture every connotation of his poetry, his poems themselves provide a bold yet daring exploration in the use of language. With the use of this poem, it's definitely an epic start to an epic calender.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare, bold decision Stephen. I admit that I did have to read this poem several times over to understand the message, but once understood I think the meaning of the poem is quite beautiful. It is saying how music, like people, are so much greater when accompanied by others. I am excited for more music poems!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to read the poems you choose and write for theme of music. I feel like it's a lesser explored topic, therefore it being terribly exciting (at the very least, more exciting than mine). Anyway, this poem that you've chosen is a great start to your theme + calender! I'm impressed. I feel like it has to do with the way notes harmonize, but I've yet to fully understand this poem regardless. It's beautiful, and the iambic pentameter - imitating the heartbeat, as well the point to this poem, go quite well hand-in-hand. It feels very.. sentimental with this technique.
ReplyDeleteinteresting idea in combining two fantastic similar yet vastly different arts- poetry & music!
ReplyDeleteLike the others, I was surprised by your use of Shakespeare, but after reading this I can say that I am better acquainted with the sonnet! I really enjoy the analogy of the marriage of "well-tuned sounds" and using music as a link to relationships. Good stuff!
Nice choice in poem Steven. It's kind of sad and has a great link of music to relationships. I agree with others when they say that choosing Shakespeare as your first poem is a bold choice, but I am confident you will work it out.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful poem, it's interesting to see that no matter how much time has passed from Shakespeare's life to ours, that music is still so important and valued. It's easy to understand that Shakespeare felt great emotion through music, and he has conveyed it through his writing. Great choice!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris. This poem is interesting and i also find it strange how an intimate relationship is intwined with music. This is very original and fresh. I never knew shakespeare could be so clever with the arts.
ReplyDeleteNice Terado, spell my name right please.
ReplyDeleteStephen, I really liked your choice of poetry. Shakespeare is renowned for his writing about love, so the relationship between love and music in this poem works very well. This poem isn't easy to understand, so it was a brave choice to pick it. Good job!
ReplyDeleteExcellent choice of poem, obviously a great poem, since the great William Shakespeare wrote it. This poem is a difficult one to understand, and I'm surprised how well you understood the metophor between the young man having a family and him being a single note which sounds sad, but when in harmony with other notes it sounds beautiful. Very fresh metophor. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteStephen, although this poem did not do much for me as far as connecting emotionally- I found the concept of pairing music, marriage interesting. The overall flow of the poem is nice. Great pick.
ReplyDeleteDeep and retro. Nice poem. This poem was beautiful, man. This poem makes you think about the type of music back in the day of Kings and Queens. Since this is a Shakespeare, it flows nicely and has a theatre type speech in it. Nicely done.
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