The Ghost of Stratford
Dramatis Personae: * WILL: William Shakespeare, the Bard, a spectral figure. * VALENTINE: A young man, lovesick and tongue-tied. Scene I: (VALENTINE stands alone in a moonlit garden, pacing restlessly. He addresses the night sky.) VALENTINE: O fickle moon, that dost observe my plight, And cast a silver pallor on this ground, Witness my woe, my love-lorn, sleepless night! She walks these paths, yet I, a silent hound, Can only gaze, and sigh, and yearn in vain, For words to weave a spell, a sweet refrain. My heart doth overflow, a brimming cup, But from my lips, no eloquence doth sup. Oh, for the Bard, that master of the rhyme, To lend his wit, to aid me in this time! If spirits roam, and shadows softly glide, Oh, Bard of Avon, hear my anguished tide! (Suddenly, WILL appears, shimmering into existence. Both men startle.) VALENTINE: By heavens! Who art thou, and whence dost thou arise? A vision born of moonlight, or a phantom's guise? WILL: Fear not, young man. Though I ma...