Five for Friday: Celebrating the Bard

Methinks it's time for a Five for Friday party! 

Not just any Five for Five party, a Five for Friday BIRTHDAY party in honor of my pal William Shakespeare! Tomorrow he turns 452. I'm not sure he'll be able to join us (apparently he's still thinking it over), but the party IS in his honor and I hope YOU will join us! (Goodness knows, it's no fun partying alone... especially during National Poetry Month.)

Lord Polonius: What do you read, my lord?

Hamlet: Words, words, words.

 

"Shakespeare's words" – photo by Meg

Thanks to Jama Rattigan for her marvelous review of WILL'S WORDS (Charlesbridge, 2016) last week and to Mr. Cornelius for inspiring today's theme with his mouth-watering display of refrigerator magnet poetry.

It's been a while since our last Five for Friday party, so let me remind you how to play:

Come up with five words (plus title if you wish) based on a theme. 

That's it. Easy peasy, right? Just leave your five words in a comment (or, if you have difficulty leaving a comment, email them to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com) and I will move them to the main body of the post.

What should you write about? 

Anything! Feel free to borrow one or more of Shakespeare's words, OR, for those of you seeking more of a challenge, here are some partial quotes from Shakespeare's plays and sonnets:

• To be or not to be...
• All the world's a stage...
• We are such stuff as dreams are made on...
• What's in a name...
• If music be the food of love...
• To thine own self be true...
• The course of true love...
• Love looks not with the eyes...
• Out, damned spot...
• Shall I compare thee to a summer's day...
• Romeo, romeo...
• A horse! A horse!...

Choose one as your title and go from there! You can be as contemplative or as frivolous as you like. If you want to use "Out, damned spot" as your title and write about last weekend's laundry dilemma, I say go for it ...but keep it to five words. Ay, there's the rub!

I've started us off with two examples.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

holding dice 

in my hands

– Michelle Heidenrich Barnes

A HORSE! A HORSE!

                                             F r e e d o m

will not be harnessed.

– Michelle Heidenrich Barnes

LOVE LOOKS NOT WITH THE EYES...

That's the job
of lust.

– Diane Mayr

THE DEVILS ARE HERE

The lunatic,
lover,
and poet.

– Matt Forrest Esenwine

IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE . . .

sharp words will
cause indigestion.

– Linda Baie

OUT, DAMNED SPOT

You've soiled the carpet
again.

 – Renée LaTulippe

WHAT's IN A NAME?

Uninviteds -
Lady Lousewort,
Sir Swinecress

– Jan Godown Annino

WE ARE SUCH STUFF AS DREAMS ARE MADE ON …

tontine, latex, foam
or rock

–  Kathryn Apel

THE WORLD'S MINE OYSTER

Poetry Friday
is a pearl

– Tabatha Yeatts

FIND TONGUES IN TREES

words on wind
just listen

– Brenda David Harsham

TRUE NOBILITY IS EXEMPT FROM FEAR

Confidence is easiest
on offense

– Leane Gill

ET TU, BRUTE?

Was it something I said?

ET TU, BRUTE?

You—friend? No enemies needed!

ET TU, BRUTE?

 

#Backstabbers  Song 4 U:  O’Jays

– cbhanek

HEART OF GOLD

Fair Michelle
Darling Ditty Pie

– The Flaming Youth 

THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE

Floods sorrows
Swells JOY's oceans

– Becky Shillington

WE ARE SUCH STUFF AS DREAMS ARE MADE ON ...

Wings of infinity
Butterflies believe

– Jessica Bigi

WHAT'S IN A NAME...

Generations
Humanity’s
Faces uniting
Hero's

– Jessica Bigi

SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER'S DAY?

Sweat upon my weary brow!

– Janie Lazo

TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE

Remember,
this, too,
has boundaries.

– Mary Lee Hahn 

THERE'S MAGIC IN THE WEB OF IT...

The spider's dew-dappled lace.

– Catherine Flynn

THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE

begins
when the eyes
see

– Margaret Simon

A HORSE! A HORSE!

And possibly
a laying hen?

– Penny Parker Klostermann

TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE ...

hence—
write from the heart

– Penny Parker Klostermann

IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE ...

sing loud
of chocolate truffles

– Penny Parker Klostermann

THE PAST IS PROLOGUE

Flowers wilt
Fallen seeds bloom

From remnant DNA
spring dinosaurs
Curiosity satisfied
breeds further questions

Bedtime stories
become “one more”

– Sydney O'Neill

Bill says, "Thanks for hangin' out at my party!"          Photo: Miranda

This is the last week to submit your "echo"-inspired poem before our wrap-up celebration next Friday! Featured poems this week included ones by Kate O'Neil, Lani (a 4th grader), Angelique Pacheco, and Matt Forrest Esenwine. Thanks also to Margaret Simon, Carol Varsalona, Molly Hogan, and cbhanek for sharing DMC poems at their own blogs!

Hey! Guess who's hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup? Wouldn't you know, it's Jama Rattigan! There's always a treat waiting at Jama's Alphabet Soup.