Happy Shakespeare Day

Happy Thursday, my friends. I hope you are enjoying Poetry month here. It has been a treat to share poems that I love and new ones that delighted me. Today is also Shakespeare Day aka Shakespeare's Birthday.

I have talked about good old Will before here. And how I adore his sonnets. Today, I'm going to share not one of poems, one of his pieces from one of his most famous plays: Romeo and Juliet. I love Juliet's speech .

It is a beautiful piece full of longing, desire and love. This is from Act 3, scene 2. Here is Juliet's speech read by me. I know some of Juliet's speech, not all of it. I did this spontaneously, I hope you all enjoy it.



Here is the text below to follow along.


Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds,
Towards Phoebus’ lodging: such a wagoner
As Phaethon would whip you to the west,
And bring in cloudy night immediately.
Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night,
That runaway’s eyes may wink and Romeo
Leap to these arms, untalk’d of and unseen.
Lovers can see to do their amorous rites
By their own beauties; or, if love be blind,
It best agrees with night. Come, civil night,
Thou sober-suited matron, all in black,
And learn me how to lose a winning match,
Play’d for a pair of stainless maidenhoods:
Hood my unmann’d blood, bating in my cheeks,
With thy black mantle; till strange love, grown bold,
Think true love acted simple modesty.
Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night;
For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night
Whiter than new snow on a raven’s back.
Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow’d night,
Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
O, I have bought the mansion of a love,
But not possess’d it, and, though I am sold,
Not yet enjoy’d: so tedious is this day
As is the night before some festival
To an impatient child that hath new robes
And may not wear them. O, here comes my nurse,
And she brings news; and every tongue that speaks
But Romeo’s name speaks heavenly eloquence.

PS. I know some people are having trouble hearing the audio, click on the word Juliet here. This should work hopefully