Alack, What Poverty My Muse Brings Forth

Alack, what poverty my Muse brings forth,

That having such a scope to show her pride,

The argument all bare is of more worth

Than when it hath my added praise beside.

O, blame me not if I no more can write!

Look in your glass, and there appears a face

That overgoes my blunt invention quite,

Dulling my lines, and doing me disgrace.

Were it not sinful then striving to mend,

To mar the subject that before was well?

For to no other pass my verses tend

Than of your graces and your gifts to tell;

And more, much more than in my verse can sit,

Your own glass shows you when you look in it.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He is one of the world's most highly esteemed writers, and is thought to be the most quoted author in history, second only to the Bible. His plays and poems have been studied, analyzed, read, and loved for centuries. Little is known about William Shakespeare's childhood or education, but scholars agree that he likely attended the King's New School. He was working as an actor and playwright in London by the year 1592, and was also a managing partner in the acting company the Lord Chamberlain's Men. After James I was crowned king in 1603, the theater company's name was changed to the King's Men, and it grew to be quite popular.

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Alack, What Poverty My Muse Brings Forth

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