he hand that ancient Caesar drew

Could make Jack Falstaff come to view,

Made Lawrence, all-too-Christian friar,

Iago, most perfidious liar,

Saintly Prospero, suffering Lear,

Macbeth’s strong lady filled with fear,

Hard-hearted Shylock, crushed, alone,

Who gave his Leah a precious stone,

Dame Quickly’s inadvertent slips,

Clown Touchstone’s never-ending quips,

The women, better oft than men,

Cordelia, Portia, Rosalind,

Unheard-of spirits brought to light,

The tricky Puck and Ariel bright,  

Titania who loves an ass,

When Bottom for an ass can pass,

Old Hamlet’s ghost, the witches three,

The gods themselves if needed be—           

All creatures of a human mind

Whose equal we shall never find.  

Poet, philosopher, teacher, friend,                                                

Your influence can never end,

Not for a country, class or clime,

Not for a part but for all mankind.