Part 17 (2/2)

And who was he who flourish'd in the smiles Of thy fair face? 'Twas Shakespeare of the Isles, Shakespeare of England, whom the world has known As thine, and ours, and Glory's, in the zone Of all the seas and all the lands of earth.

III.

He was un-famous when he came to thee, But sound, and sweet, and good for eyes to see, And born at Stratford, on St. George's Day, A week before the wondrous month of May; And G.o.d therein was gracious to us all.

IV.

He lov'd thee, Lady! and he lov'd the world; And, like a flag, his fealty was unfurl'd; And Kings who flourished ere thy son was born Shall live through him, from morn to furthest morn, In all the far-off cycles yet to come.

V.

He gave us Falstaff, and a hundred quips, A hundred mottoes from immortal lips; And, year by year, we smile to keep away The generous tears that mind us of the sway Of his great singing, and the pomp thereof.

VI.

His was the nectar of the G.o.ds of Greece, The lute of Orpheus, and the Golden Fleece Of grand endeavour; and the thunder-roll Of words majestic, which, from pole to pole, Have borne the tidings of our English tongue.

VII.

He gave us Hamlet; and he taught us more Than schools have taught us; and his fairy-lore Was fraught with science; and he called from death Verona's Lovers, with the burning breath Of their great pa.s.sion that has filled the spheres.

VIII.

He made us know Cordelia, and the man Who murder'd sleep, and baleful Caliban; And, one by one, athwart the gloom appear'd Maidens and men and myths who were revered In olden days, before the earth was sad.

IX.

Aye! this is true. It was ordained so; He was thine own, three hundred years ago; But ours to-day; and ours till earth be red With doom-day splendour for the quick and dead, And days and nights are scattered like the leaves.

X.

It was for this he lived, for this he died; To raise to Heaven the face that never lied, To lean to earth the lips that should become Fraught with conviction when the mouth was dumb, And all the firm, fine body turn'd to clay.

XI.

He lived to seal, and sanctify the lives Of perish'd maids, and uncreated wives, And gave them each a s.p.a.ce wherein to dwell; And for his mother's sake he loved them well, And made them types, undying, of all truth.

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