Shakespeare in the Dark

Here's a poem to give one pause, whether on the subway or waiting in line in Central Park. "To an Artist, to Take Heart" by Louise Bogan.

Slipping in blood, by his own hand, through pride, 
Hamlet, Othello, Coriolanus fall.
Upon his bed, however, Shakespeare died,
Having endured them all.

(Photo: Antony Sher as Macbeth, Harriet Walter as Lady Macbeth. Dir. Gregory Doran for RSC, 1999)