Alternate Shakespeare.
Tonight is my Victorian Mage game. As part of the world background for this universe, I've been writing a lot of 'alternate Shakespeare' -- the histories and tragedies that are different in a world where reality is occasionally, dramatically different. Here's an excerpt from 'The Tragedy of Owain Glendower, Prince of Wales', one of Shakespeare's tragedies in this glorious and gaslight world:
(Owain was a real historical figure in our world; in this world, he came much closer to successfully holding England out of Wales, and caused the death of Anselm, Crown Prince of England, in the final battle between their kingdoms. 'Cymru' is the old Welsh name for 'Wales'.)
OWAIN:
Leave Cymru? Turn my back and walk away?
Perhaps I could, were this another land,
Were I the child of some far-distant shore,
Not Cymru's own rough and stormy beaches.
Perhaps I could, were I another man.
But this was my country, this shining jewel
The brilliant proof of divine intervention
Into the world and works of simple Man.
What other force could have crafted such a land?
These hills, these woods, these perfect, rocky shores.
This was my country, and in this great land
Have I grown to my full manhood, knowing
Always that Cymru's days were numbered,
For England has grown greedy and unwise,
And could not let us rest. This was my land.
This my birthright and my only treasure,
This the kingdom for which men lived or died.
Let Cymru lie forgotten? How can I?
Can I upon my mother turn my back
Now that her health is so endanger'd,
And say my own well-being matters more
Than that of she who bore me, raised me up,
Made of me a man? How could I leave her?
Cymru is the land of my beginning,
And it is here that I will make my stand.
Let my story end where first it began,
And when I fall, let not the English wolves
Pick at my bones, but ravens, Cymru's own,
Take my flesh and carry my soul home.
(Owain was a real historical figure in our world; in this world, he came much closer to successfully holding England out of Wales, and caused the death of Anselm, Crown Prince of England, in the final battle between their kingdoms. 'Cymru' is the old Welsh name for 'Wales'.)
OWAIN:
Leave Cymru? Turn my back and walk away?
Perhaps I could, were this another land,
Were I the child of some far-distant shore,
Not Cymru's own rough and stormy beaches.
Perhaps I could, were I another man.
But this was my country, this shining jewel
The brilliant proof of divine intervention
Into the world and works of simple Man.
What other force could have crafted such a land?
These hills, these woods, these perfect, rocky shores.
This was my country, and in this great land
Have I grown to my full manhood, knowing
Always that Cymru's days were numbered,
For England has grown greedy and unwise,
And could not let us rest. This was my land.
This my birthright and my only treasure,
This the kingdom for which men lived or died.
Let Cymru lie forgotten? How can I?
Can I upon my mother turn my back
Now that her health is so endanger'd,
And say my own well-being matters more
Than that of she who bore me, raised me up,
Made of me a man? How could I leave her?
Cymru is the land of my beginning,
And it is here that I will make my stand.
Let my story end where first it began,
And when I fall, let not the English wolves
Pick at my bones, but ravens, Cymru's own,
Take my flesh and carry my soul home.