By Castle and River: Antony and Cleopatra

The Brook

By: Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)

I come from haunts of coot and hern,
I make a sudden sally,
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley.

By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorps, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.

Till last by Philip's farm I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.

I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.

With many a curve my banks I fret
by many a field and fallow,
And many a fairy foreland set
With willow-weed and mallow.

I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.

I wind about, and in and out,
with here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling,

And here and there a foamy flake
Upon me, as I travel
With many a silver water-break
Above the golden gravel,

And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.

I steal by lawns and grassy plots,
I slide by hazel covers;
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
That grow for happy lovers.

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows.

I murmur under moon and stars
In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;

And out again I curve and flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Antony and Cleopatra

Well. I haven't un-enjoyed one of Shakespeare's plays this much since 'Troilus and Cressida.'

I have always thought of it as an overrated story. And now I know. It is. It was basically Romeo and Juliet for grown-ups.

Best Character: Eh, I don't know. I liked Antony. I really don't know why. There didn't seem to be very much to any of the characters, I guess Antony was the one one who stood out any.

Worst Character: Again, I really don't know. I didn't like Cleopatra. I didn't find her "mysterious'' or 'mesmerizing'. Merely somewhat stupid.

In a Word: Long.

Rated: PG13

Crowning Moment: Cleo assures Tony she could help him on with his armor. The very next thing she says is "What's this for?"

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Antony and Cleopatra

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