Originally written by Jacek K. on May 21, 2009 12:18 PM Does William Shakespeare's Poetry Really Reach Us Anymore? Come On---Really?

"The problem is whether Shakespeare's English is the language we speak at all. English of the late 1500s presents us with a tricky question: At what point do we concede that substantial comprehension across the centuries has become too much of a challenge to expect of anyone but specialists? "

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I doubt that I could understand the Middle English if read aloud to me, but reading it in a side-by-side version, it doesn't take that long to get a feeling of the rhythm and the language to the point where the Middle English starts to feel familiar and the Wife of Bath (my favorite tale) a friend speaking in a language you actually understand.  

 I have removed the hyperlinks in the ME version. However, on the library site they have a glossary and the hyperlinks in the ME version leads you straight to it.

From Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales:

From The Canterbury Tales:
The Wife of Bath's Prologue
lines 1-34: The Wife of Bath mentions her five husbands

The Prologe of the Wyves Tale of Bathe

"Experience, though noon auctoritee   Were in this world, were right ynogh to me   To speke of wo that is in mariage;   For, lordynges, sith I twelf yeer was of age, 5 Thonked be God, that is eterne on lyve,   Housbondes at chirche dore I have had fyve -   For I so ofte have ywedded bee -   And alle were worthy men in hir degree.   But me was toold, certeyn, nat longe agoon is, 10 That sith that Crist ne wente nevere but onis   To weddyng in the Cane of Galilee,   That by the same ensample, taughte he me,   That I ne sholde wedded be but ones.   Herkne eek, lo, which a sharpe word for the nones, 15 Biside a welle Jhesus, God and Man,   Spak in repreeve of the Samaritan.   "Thou hast yhad fyve housbondes," quod he,   "And thilke man the which that hath now thee   Is noght thyn housbonde;" thus seyde he certeyn. 20 What that he mente ther by, I kan nat seyn;   But that I axe, why that the fifthe man   Was noon housbonde to the Samaritan?   How manye myghte she have in mariage?   Yet herde I nevere tellen in myn age 25 Upon this nombre diffinicioun.   Men may devyne, and glosen up and doun,   But wel I woot, expres, withoute lye,   God bad us for to wexe and multiplye;   That gentil text kan I wel understonde. 30 Eek wel I woot, he seyde, myn housbonde   Sholde lete fader and mooder, and take to me;   But of no nombre mencioun made he,   Of bigamye, or of octogamye;   Why sholde men speke of it vileynye?

"Experience, though no authority   Were in this world, were good enough for me,   To speak of woe that is in all marriage;   For, masters, since I was twelve years of age, 5 Thanks be to God who is forever alive,   Of husbands at church door have I had five;   For men so many times have married me;   And all were worthy men in their degree.   But someone told me not so long ago 10 That since Our Lord, save once, would never go   To wedding that at Cana in Galilee,   Thus, by this same example, showed he me   I never should have married more than once.   Lo and behold! What sharp words, for the nonce, 15 Beside a well Lord Jesus, God and man,   Spoke in reproving the Samaritan:   "For thou hast had five husbands," thus said he,   "And he whom thou hast now to be with thee   Is not thine husband." Thus he said that day, 20 But what he meant thereby I cannot say;   And I would ask now why that same fifth man   Was not husband to the Samaritan?   How many might she have, then, in marriage?   For I have never heard, in all my age, 25 Clear exposition of this number shown,   Though men may guess and argue up and down.   But well I know and say, and do not lie,   God bade us to increase and multiply;   That worthy text can I well understand. 30 And well I know he said, too, my husband   Should father leave, and mother, and cleave to me;   But no specific number mentioned He,   Whether of bigamy or octogamy;   Why should men speak of it reproachfully?

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http://www.librarius.com/canttran/wftltrfs.htm

I have voted for #5 on this poll.

Hollywood celebrities have gone to London to seek redress over reports of wayward kisses.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/business/media/25libel.html?ref=europe

No, reckless, juicy, tasty and wayward rekissing. And no smackers, please.

Nanna

When is a kiss just a kiss? 

Post #115324

It is difficult
to get the news from poems,
yet men die miserably every day
for lack of what is found there.

William Carlos Williams

http://www.spcsb.org/advoc/poetrytx.html

[snip]Though poetry as therapy is a relatively new development in the expressive arts, it is as old as the first chants sung around the tribal fires of primitive peoples. The chant/ song/poem is what heals the heart and soul. Even the word psychology suggests that, psyche meaning soul and logos speech or word. In mythology Oceanus told Prometheus, "Words are the physician of the mind diseased." Though it was recorded there was a Roman physician named Soranus in the first century A.D. who prescribed poetry and drama for his patients, the link between poetry and medicine has not been well documented. It is interesting to note, however, that the first hospital in the American colonies to care for the mentally ill, Pennsylvania Hospital founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin, employed several ancillary treatments for their patients including reading, writing and the publishing of their writings in a newspaper they titled The Illuminator. The term "bibliotherapy" is a more common term than poetry therapy, which became popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s, which literally means the use of literature to serve or help. Freud once wrote, "Not I, but the poet discovered the unconscious." Another time he said, "The mind is a poetry-making organ." Later on, many other theoreticians such as Adler, Jung, Arieti and Reik wrote of how much science had to gain from the study of poets. ...

I like version 2 most.