Monday, April 27, 2020

SHAKESPEARE AND BASHO

Haibun Monday and Frank presents Basho and
Shakespeare.  We’re asked to produce a haibun
featuring one or both, followed by a Haiku.  An
interesting challenge!
Submitted to dVerse 4-27-2020
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While I’m drawn to Basho’s haikus, brief and crisp, it’s the word mastery of Shakespeare that captures me.  His legacy of phrases that are still in common use, and his colorful, descriptive epithets cannot be surpassed.  He played the English language like a theater organ, pulling out all stops, yet he was born to illiterate parents and reared in a small town.  There is no record of his ever attending grammar school or university.  No letters or plays have been found written in his handwriting, and the existing samples of his handwriting are mainly signatures, often with his name misspelled.  So, did this uneducated man who couldn’t spell his own name correctly produce this mass of works?  Mystery swirls around Shakespeare and his works, and many theories abound.  What a fascinating history for the ages!

skillful word pictures
masterful Bard of Avon
we borrow your words

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9 comments:

  1. Jade LiApril 27, 2020 at 2:03 PM

    I enjoyed reading your haibun dedicated to the person who is still Top of the Heap for me with wordplay.

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  2. Frank J. TassoneApril 27, 2020 at 2:38 PM

    A wonderful, haibunic tribute to the Bard, Beverly! Thank you!

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  3. KerfeApril 27, 2020 at 3:53 PM

    We do borrow those words! (K)

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  4. Dwight L. RothApril 27, 2020 at 8:40 PM

    Perhaps poetry is like music...simply rearranged and repeated over and over again.
    Your haiku tells the story! Very nice!!

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  5. sarahApril 27, 2020 at 11:03 PM

    Yes, we quote Shakespeare unknowingly, all the time, when we speak in English - let alone write!

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  6. brudbergApril 28, 2020 at 1:53 AM

    Shakespeare and his influences is truly a mystery... not only spelling and language but also his references to earlier literature is a mystery...

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  7. kaykualaApril 28, 2020 at 2:32 AM

    Modern day poets would have to be excused for falling back on the Bard. It just goes to show that his works transcend the different times and era and are still seen as very relevant even now. Great show Bev!

    Hank

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  8. Kim M. RussellApril 28, 2020 at 4:53 AM

    I agree, Bev, that Basho’s writing is brief and crisp, but I will always be captivated by the word mastery and mystery of Shakespeare.

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  9. Jedediah SmithApril 28, 2020 at 8:10 AM

    Good concise memoir.

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