Tabb Centenary Year XXVII

A sonnet on William Shakespeare by Rev. John B. Tabb.

Shakespeare’s Mourners

I saw the grave of Shakespeare in a dream,
And round about it grouped a wondrous throng,
His own majestic mourners, who belong
Forever to the Stage of Life, and seem
The rivals of reality. Supreme
Stood Hamlet, as erewhile the graves among,
Mantled in thought; and sad Ophelia sung
The same swan-dirge she chanted in the stream.
Othello, dark in destiny’s eclipse,
Laid on the tomb a lily. Near him wept
Dejected Constance. Fair Cordelia’s lips
Moved prayerfully the while her father slept,
And each and all, inspired of vital breath,
Kept vigil o’er the sacred spoils of death.

1882 (p. 279, Sonnets)

[Shakespeare died this day, April 23, 1616. Hamlet and Ophelia are characters in the play Hamlet; Othello, in Othello; Constance, in King John; and, Cordelia, in King Lear.]

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Thu. 04/23/09 08:31:40 AM
Categorized as Father Tabb Centenary Year & Literary.