SHAKESPEARE was not accounted great
When good Queen Bess ruled England’ s state,
So why should I to-day repine
Because the laurel is not mine?
Perhaps in twenty-ninety-three
Folks will begin to talk of me,
And somewhere statues may be built
Of me, in bronze, perhaps in gilt,
And sages full of quips and quirks
Will wonder if I wrote my works.
So why should I repine to-day
Because my brow wears not the bay?