Shakespeare's Stratford-Upon-Avon
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
My heart gallops when I see the word
It’s associated with the great English literary lord
He’s William Shakespeare, poet, playwright and prose master
He’s admired and adored by all English lovers
I have been there once in my life time to remember for ever
That memory still remains in my heart for over forty years.
(Portrait of William Shakespeare, the Greatest English Playwright)
Today I was looking at the photo of two friends just being there
It was Ko Htin Aung and Hla Yee Yee hugging to each other
They seem to be happy smiling sweetly to the photographer
I remember I too when I was in the birth place of Shakespeare;
(Dr Hla Yee Yee and Dr Htin Aung in Stratford-Upon-Avon)
It’s a rare feat for a Burman to have visited that holy and historic place
I remember Saya Minthuwun composing a poem eulogizing his Grace.
Minthuwun says, “This is the place where the famous hunter
That stole the deer from a Lord was born and bred for wonder;
He became the greatest writer of English language of the world,
I pay tribute to him solemnly and as such may I be a great writer!”
(Shakespeare House, Stratford-Upon-Avon)
I can understand how he felt when he was in
I was there forty years ago and felt similarly for record.
It was in 1967 summer when I was visiting on vacation
It was done by the British Council’s supervision
My Supervisor Professor Bowden suggested it with vision
I have been working so hard for Ph.D. without interruption
Since I arrived in her Department alone since 16 months ago
She thought I needed a break to rest my tension and tempo.
(Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon)
It was the first time I saw the English countryside
It was summer, sunny and warm with beautiful sights
Green trees, green grass and colourful flowers all bright
Red, black, yellow, pink, varying in tone from deep to light
It was a kaleidoscopic sight I enjoyed very much and liked.
(An English Garden near Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford)
I remember English Professor Daw Thein Nyunt saying as
“English summer is so beautiful and enchanting;
I was absorbed in it, I lay down on the grass bed,
I just gaped and gazed into the horizon enjoying.”
(Train at Stratford-Upon-Avon Station)
I was taken by a taxi driven by a lady from the station
To the guest house we were supposed to check-in
There I met about 12 to 15 foreign scholars just chatting
We’re the special British Council supervised team;
(A local Guest House in Stratford-Upon-Avon)
We had Burmese, Chinese, Thai and Indians,
Not to say of the East Africans and Nigerians
They all were lovers of Shakespeare’s poems
They could recite them whenever they're buoyed.
Once during a discussion about the character Hamlet
One Indian student talked about him at length
The English writer who was leading was surprised and pleased
I remember “My Fair Lady” in which Professor Higgins hissed
“The best English is spoken in the
It’s the most memorable speech Bernard Shaw had weaved.
(Mother of Shakespeare Mary Arden's House in Stratford)
To make us enjoy the Stratford-Upon-Avon Itinerary fully
Arrangements were made for us to study Shakespeare’s life
We’ll watch performances of the Royal Shakespeare Company
And take part in literary talks and discussion about the great poet
I did not forget how much knowledge and pleasure we all had
Indeed it was a memorable vacation mixed with fun and facts.
(Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon)
I visited the house where Shakespeare was born
I was shown where his parents were living long
I also saw a house where his lover lived before marriage
I also saw the environs with Tudor Houses that graced.
(Stratford-UponAvon Town with Tudor's Houses)
Anne Hathaway’s house was unremarkable
It was small, simple, sustainable and enjoyable
It shows the status of her family in the 17th century
It says love is all that matters in the Bard’s company.
(Anne Hathaway's Cottage,She was Shakespeare's Lover and Wife)
Royal Shakespeare Theatre was made of red brick
It was situated on the left bank of River Avon twist
Water flowed slowly and canoes could go slow or quick
I remember I oared a canoe across the river to frisk
But, fellow tourists jumped into it and we nearly ditched
It was just lucky we reached the Theatre Foyer near the bridge.
( The Narrow Avon River)
We then had a photo session and walked about
We talked to each other shouting aloud
We looked around the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in and out
We marveled at grand designs and decorations of the theatre
It was a fitting tribute to the great bard’s honour
I wished we could do the same to our Burmese Poet U Pon Nya.
(Front Curtain in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre honouring Shakespeare)
Then, there was a literary talk by an English writer
He spoke about Shakespeare’s plays and his characters
Hamlet, Othello, Shylock, Portia and Julius Caesar
I still remember what Caesar said to his friend Brutus
“Oh, you too” meaning he was in this plot, so treacherous!
A constant reminder not to trust even intimate friends in politics
They are ready to kill you if it will benefit them as they’re selfish!
(Motor Roads to Stratford-Upon-Avon from London and Else)
After lunch, we could rest and have our own time
We stretched our bodies on bed or we just enjoyed
We may walk along the banks of the River Avon
It was shady, scenic studded with flowers and acorns
The river itself was not wider than ten yards all along
I thought it was no bigger than a Burmese Chaung (stream).
(Statue of William Shakespeare situated in Leicester Square,London)
But, I marveled at the English people
They preserve their heritage true
They honour their Greats with due respects
They promote their fate through struggle and stress!
(Queen Elizabeth I of England who patronised Shakespeare)
In a sense Shakespeare had a great powerful patron
He was admired and encouraged by the Queen of Briton
She was the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I of fame
She was encouraging all the English to gain
Control of the world, export their culture and name
It was the period of great activities for the English aim!
(Map of the British Empire in the 1920s where the sun never set)
It’s true when the royalty or government enthused
Arts and literature flourished and accrued
Artists, artisans and literati grew in number and wealth
The country and people will enjoy better moral health;
I remember General Aung San asking the movie artistes and industry
To work for uplifting of morale and material wealth of the country
He attended the first postwar conference of the movie society
I’m sure
(General Aung San and Sir Hubert Rance attending the Conference
of Movie Artistes just before Burma's Independence)
Who ever wants to question the English spirit?
They have established an Empire named British
It encompassed about one third of the world fixed
From the place of rising sun to the solace of setting sun
It was called “the Empire where the sun never set to run”
It was a time of English men with grandiose plans
They colonized parts of Asia, Africa and
(Coventry's New Cathedral rebuilt on the site of old Cathedral
destroyed by Intense Nazi Bombing)
I love Shakespeare not because he was English
But because he was wise, witty,polished and prolific
He had a great sense of humour and humanity
He looked into people’s lives with humility to understand
He was full of morality when writing plays so grand
Othello, Henry the Eighth, King Lear led the band;
(The Royal Shakespeare Theatre Foyer Cafe)
Merchant of
MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar are tragedies
I fell in love with him since I learned English in Secondary
It was further enhanced in the university and Shakespeare’s country.
(The Warwick Castle situated near Stratford-Upon-Avon, first built
by William the Conqueror in the 11th Century)
Oh! I feel nostalgic about Shakespeare
I always read his poetry and literature
I like to revisit
I vividly remember where I have visited there;
(An English Garden near Stratford-Upon_Avon)
Shakespeare’s birthplace and Anne Hathaway’s
Where they were supposed to live in loving way
Where he was supposed to write such great plays
They’re immortal, great and grand, the Sage’s sway!
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
12.12.2008 (original)
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