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 QfarncU Hmuecatta Blihtaty 
 
 Mifata, New Hark 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY 
 
 COLLECTED BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 1854-1919 
 
 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
Cornell university Library 
 PB 2878.S52 
 
W \4 Cornell University 
 WM Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013144864 
 
Shakespeare 
 in Limerick 
 
 BY 
 
 BRAINERD McKEE 
 
 LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 
 JOHN P. MORTON & COMPANY 
 
 INCORPORATED 
 
Copyright, r9IO 
 By BRAINERD McKEE 
 
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Table of Contents 
 
 I. 
 
 The Tempest. 
 
 II. 
 
 Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
 
 III. 
 
 The Merry Wives of Wind- 
 
 
 sor. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Measure for Measure. 
 
 V. 
 
 The Comedy of Errors. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Much Ado About Nothing. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Love's Labor's Lost. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 A Midsummer Night's 
 
 
 Dream. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The Merchant of Venice. 
 
 X. 
 
 As You Like It. 
 
 XI. 
 
 The Taming of the Shrew. 
 
 XII. 
 
 All's Well That Ends 
 
 
 Well. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Twelfth Night. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 The Winter's Tale. 
 
 XV. 
 
 King John. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 King Richard II. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 King Henry IV. 
 
XVIII. 
 
 King Henry V. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 King Henry VI. 
 
 XX. 
 
 King Richard III. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 King Henry VIII. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Othello. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 King Lear. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Macbeth. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Timon of Athens. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Troilus and Cressida. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Cymbeline. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Coriolanus. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Julius CjEsar. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Antony and Cleopatra. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Pericles. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Venus and Adonis. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Lucrece. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Sonnets. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 A Lover's Complaint. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 The Passionate Pilgrim 
 
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 i 
 
 Shakespeare in Limerick 
 
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 I. " 
 
 THE TEMPEST 
 
 There once was a girl named Miranda 
 Who flirted with one Ferdinand, a 
 
 Shipwrecked young prince 
 
 Who, after a rinse, / 
 
 Played chess with her on the veranda. 
 
 II. /,'. 
 
 TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA 
 
 There once were two gents from Verona 
 Who both tried to telephone a 
 
 Message of love 
 
 To the same turtle-dove. 
 And in their warm hearts to enthrone her. 
 

 III. 
 
 THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR 'N^ 
 
 There was a fat man they called Falstaff : 
 When he walked he carried a tall staff. 
 
 And this made him lean — 
 
 That is — 1 mean — 
 It made him lean on the tall staff. 
 
 IV. 
 
 MEASURE FOR MEASURE 
 
 There once was a Duke of Vienna 
 who dressed in a costume of senna : 
 
 A reformer was he; 
 
 And he worked like a bee 
 To save the old town from Gehenna. 
 
 r ' ;-*-.„? ' 
 
 I 
 
i 
 
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 V. ^■ 
 
 ' THE COMEDY OF ERRORS 
 
 There once was a couple of twins 
 
 Who looked as alike as two pins — 
 
 Pardon me, please — 
 
 I should have said " p s ^ ,' 
 
 f 
 But the rhyme there required the pins. 
 
 VI. ! 
 
 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ([ 
 
 There once was a miserly bachelor ^' 
 
 Who carried his heart in a satchel or 
 
 Small trunk, perhaps, 
 
 Secured well by straps. 
 Till twas stole by a maid from said 
 bachelor. 
 
 
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 VII. - 
 
 LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST ■'. 
 
 Some men once engaged in love s labor : . 
 
 They didn t use pickaxe or sabre : / 
 
 Their labor was lost: i 
 
 (^ When they counted the cost, ; S 
 
 Twas the price of a pipe and a tabor. i' 
 
 1 
 
 VIII. ' 
 
 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 
 
 There was an Athenian weaver 
 
 Who worked at his trade like a beaver, ' 
 
 Till one night 'twas his luck \ 
 
 To become stage-struck, \ 
 
 Mistaking the stage for a lever. 
 

 V 
 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 
 
 There once was a covetous Jew : 
 When some money he lent became due. 
 
 And his man couldn t pay. 
 
 The Jew then did say, 
 " For a pound of your flesh I will sue." 
 
 AS YOU LIKE IT 
 
 There once was a forest called Arden 
 
 Where one day there strolled a bard in \ 
 
 And tacked verses on trees — ^j 
 
 He was chased by some bees 
 And was also pursued by the warden. -^ 
 
 i 
 
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1 
 
 
 t 
 
 ^ 
 
 XL 
 
 THE TAMING OF THE SHREW 
 A tinker named Christopher Sly, 
 
 XII. 
 
 ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL 
 
 There once was a girl they called Helen, 
 And she was in trouble — yes, well in ; 
 
 But though in so tight. 
 
 She got out all right ; 
 So it didn t much matter she fell in. 
 
 
 Who drank too much liquor when dry. 
 
 Dreamed of taming a shrew ; ^ 
 
 But it didn t come true, J 
 
 For he hadn t the courage to try. 7 
 
 
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 XIII. :j 
 
 TWELFTH NIGHT 
 
 ■■'T 
 
 V 
 
 
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 J 
 
 ;\ 
 
 There once was a girl in lUyria, ' ■'-^ 
 
 Whose flirting so greatly did weary a S3 
 
 Bachelor duke 
 
 That he didn't rebuke, i^ jU \\ 
 
 But wed her, to ward off hysteria. 
 
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 'i 
 
 THE WINTERS TALE 
 There once were two kings had a 
 
 scrimmage 
 (Who lived in a distant and dim age) \\ 
 
 T ''lf 
 
 About one king s wife ; ^ 
 
 She died — then showed life 
 By appearing on Earth as an image. *' 
 
 
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 XV. 
 
 KING JOHN 
 
 England once had a king called John, 
 But never a second one; 
 
 For he was so bad. 
 
 If another they d had. 
 The land to the dogs would have gone. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 i 
 
 KING RICHARD II 
 
 There was a king called Richard Second 
 But away from his throne he was beckoned ; 
 
 Then shut in a tower. 
 
 Where, robbed of his power. 
 Among the "resigned he was reckoned. 
 
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 XVII. • 
 
 KING HENRY IV. 
 
 A Henry whose number was four 
 Spent much time in shedding of gore; 
 
 He did it in war. 
 
 And though none knew what for. 
 He constantly clamored for more. 
 
 XVIII. / 
 
 KING HENRY V <r 
 
 I 
 
 There once was a king called: Fifth Harry 
 Who sword-thrusts neatly could parry 
 And it helped him (this thing) , 
 
 To succeed as a king, \ 
 
 And it also did help him to marry. 
 
 Tii' nr""" "" nr 
 

 XIX. 
 
 a 
 
 J ' .7 
 
 KING HENRY VI -^ 
 
 A king known as Harry VI '.'■^ 
 
 Would sit on his throne and would sigh, 7 
 
 Till one Dick came along 
 
 And stopped his sad song > 
 
 By saying, " Your place 1 11 supply.' 2.' 
 
 XX. 
 
 KING RICHARD III. r. .-, 
 
 There once was a monarch named Dick : 
 
 To his kingdom he didn't long stick; 
 
 For he offered his crown ') 
 
 For a horse (marked down), \ ;; 
 
 Thus ending his reign very quick, ! 
 
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 XXI. 
 
 KING HENRY Vlll. 
 
 A king they called Bluff King Hal 
 
 Was a very congenial pal 
 When he had his own way. 
 But when one said him nay 
 
 Quite a different person was Hal. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET 
 
 There once was a young girl called 
 Juliet : 
 
 Were she living, she d be a fool yet. 
 She played dead in a tomb. 
 Which proved her real doom. 
 
 And that was the end of Miss Juliet. 
 
 114 
 
 .—v,ia 
 
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 XXIII. 
 
 OTHELLO 
 
 There once was a man named Othelio, 
 
 An outrageously jealous old fellow : 
 
 When they told him some lies, «- , ,-, 
 
 Quite green turned his eyes, .■ ■■' 
 
 And like a great bull he did bellow. 
 
 ,^^^?lrf^.: XXIV. /f^^?^ 
 
 KING LEAR 
 There once was a monarch named Lear 
 Whose manner of ruling was queer: r^^Fp** 
 
 Some daughters he had : 
 Said they, "Dad is mad — 
 Tis high time that we interfere. «* 
 
%. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 MACBETH 
 
 There once was a bad Thane of Fife 
 Who had an old witch for a wife ; 
 
 She, and three other witches. 
 
 By deeds dark as pitch is. 
 Plunged the country in warfare and strife. 
 
 XXVI. 
 TIMON OF ATHENS 
 
 There once was a man they called Timon — 
 (now the deuce shall 1 get a rhyme in ?) 
 
 Who squandered his all 
 
 On a Bachelor's Hall 
 Instead of donating to Hymen. 
 
i-L. 
 
 ;\\ 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 1, ^ HAMLET 
 
 There once was a gloomy yoUng Dane 
 Who all frolic and fun did disdain ; 
 
 In his dictionary 
 
 You couldn't find "merry. 
 And "pleasure ' defined he as "pain. 
 
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 f In his dictionary />S-,»(\ 
 
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 X 
 
 S TROILUS AND CRESSIDA J^.. 
 
 There once was a girl named Gressida |" 
 Who wasn t at all bona fide ; 
 S \ Troilus did woo 
 
 Her, but found her untrue, '•'4 
 
 And was very sorry he tried her. \ 
 
 \ 
 
 ) 
 
. K lAW-J**!"— -iiiS 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 CYMBELINE 
 
 There once was a king of old Britain 
 Who had a mug hfee a mitten: 
 By which statement glean 
 That his quarrelsome queen 
 So remarked, though t isn't so written, 
 
 XXX. 
 
 CORIOLANUS 
 
 There existed one Coriolanus ; 
 
 Folks said, "This man does disdain us- 
 
 lie gives us but sneers — 
 
 He s proud, it appears ; 
 And pride is a crime that is heinous." 
 
XXXI. 
 
 JULIUS OESAR 
 
 There once was a Roman named Gsssar 
 Who had a nose like a tweezer : 
 
 He ended his life 
 
 Disobeying his wife. 
 When he went to the Senate to tease her. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA 
 
 There was an Egyptian queen — 
 The fairest (they say) ever seen ; 
 
 But though she was pretty, , 
 
 And also was witty. 
 She was most unaccountably mean. 
 
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 XXXIII. 
 
 PERICLES 
 
 There once was a young Prince of Tyre, 
 And he was the son of his sire ; 
 
 He was called Pericles: 
 
 He will always please; 
 For he Shakespeare and me did inspire. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 VENUS AND ADONIS 
 
 A hunter there was named Adonis 
 Whose fate by the following shown is: 
 
 He was chased by a hoar. 
 
 And pursued by a hore: 
 That the latter was Venus well known is. 
 
 *>.iv^ '^ly.jj ir' . ■ -^jy^'^ 
 

 \ 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 LUCRECE 
 
 A lady there was named Lucrece :v 
 
 Who resided at Rome or at Greece — i 
 
 (Which place doesn't matter — ^ 
 
 I just put the latter ,\ 
 
 For rhyme s sake — it migh t have been Nice) . 7 
 
 XXXVI. •, 
 
 SONNETS -\ 
 
 Dill Shakespeare wrote many a sonnet: 
 He gave one, instead of a bonnet. 
 
 Each Easter to Anne — \ 
 
 lie gave it — then ran — 
 And left her to meditate on it. 
 
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 XXXVII. 
 
 A LOVER'S COMPLAINT 
 
 A lover once made a complaint 
 So tedious it made persons faint — 
 
 That is, those who heard 
 
 To the very last word; 
 For the patience 'twould try of a saint. 
 
 J' 
 
 / XXXVIII. 
 
 THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 
 
 There once was a passionate pilgrim, f 
 
 So sad he d have made Jack or Jill grim ; 
 1, But Shakespeare just wrote ;t 
 
 For a twenty-pound note 
 This stuff, so it didn t make Bill grim. 
 
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