William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616 / Warwickshire)

Starring the staring owl! And greasy Joan.

I see someone on a website says 'Joan' means 'prostitute, ' but Norman Blake in his 'Shakespeare's Non-Standard English' (2006) has a long long list of terms Shakespeare uses to mean 'prostitute' and 'Joan' is not among them. This poem appears late in the very early comedy 'Love's Labour's Lost' but there is no character named Joan in the play. It appears as part of the rather bizarre end of the play as the second of two poems, the first being on 'Spring, ' which Armado introduces as the dialogue that the two learned men have compiled in praise of the Owl and the Cuckoo, adding that It should have followed in the end of our show. I like this poem but find the play rather tiresome. I never have much liked Shakespeare's comedies.

Starring the staring owl! And greasy Joan.

I see someone on a website says 'Joan' means 'prostitute, ' but Norman Blake in his 'Shakespeare's Non-Standard English' (2006) has a long long list of terms Shakespeare uses to mean 'prostitute' and 'Joan' is not among them. This poem appears late in the very early comedy 'Love's Labour's Lost' but there is no character named Joan in the play. It appears as part of the rather bizarre end of the play as the second of two poems, the first being on 'Spring, ' which Armado introduces as the dialogue that the two learned men have compiled in praise of the Owl and the Cuckoo, adding that It should have followed in the end of our show. I like this poem but find the play rather tiresome. I never have much liked Shakespeare's comedies.

Starring the staring owl! And greasy Joan.

I see someone on a website says 'Joan' means 'prostitute, ' but Norman Blake in his 'Shakespeare's Non-Standard English' (2006) has a long long list of terms Shakespeare uses to mean 'prostitute' and 'Joan' is not among them. This poem appears late in the very early comedy 'Love's Labour's Lost' but there is no character named Joan in the play. It appears as part of the rather bizarre end of the play as the second of two poems, the first being on 'Spring, ' which Armado introduces as the dialogue that the two learned men have compiled in praise of the Owl and the Cuckoo, adding that It should have followed in the end of our show. I like this poem but find the play rather tiresome. I never have much liked Shakespeare's comedies.

I believe the people mentioned were actually friends
or relatives..the poem portrays a harsh winter..excellent write.. :)

Picture of winter is wonderfully depicted in his characteristic style that no one other than Shakespeare can do better!

Oh, and for the people who don't know-'blows his nail' means he's blowing on his fingernails to warm them. Roasted crabs= roasted crab apples, not the seafood. Greasy joan keels the pot= stirs the pot to cool its contents. Also, the 'parson's saw' means the 'preacher's sermon.' It's almost impossible to appreciate this poem if you don't understand these terms. Excellent poem!

As I type this, the poem above has a rating of 6.5 from 39 members! Heaven Help the rest of us then! Okay, this isn't, 'To be or not to be...' so surely just a Low Ten? ! ? Feel the bard is only playing here but it's still rather wintry! PaulB.

What can one say that hasn't been said already about Shakespeare? He really makes me feel like I'm in the middle of winter. I especially like the line 'And greasy Joan doth keel the pot.'