"Will, who might really have just been the front man for Edward de Vere
and others who may have collaborated to produce that extraordinary collection of work as was done in 'Henry VI Part I;  my favorite supposition being Christopher Marlowe's death was faked and he was spirited off to Italy where he continued to write for the stage through Will."

I really, really object to those ideas that Shakespeare didn't write his works. There is plenty of evidence that he did write his own plays, and not a shred to suggest anyone else specifically wrote them. Bill Bryson did a pretty good job regarding Shakespeare in his biography. Not that it really matters, but just couldn't help myself!

thanks

James

Cheryl, Don't worry about engaging the reader; engage yourself with how to say what it is you want to say
as clearly as you can, because that done well is what engages a reader.

I think a poet should feel free enough to take his energy, tone and voice to any environment. No walls, unless they are in a form of his choosing. Why restrict curiosity?

Oh, but you should imitate Emily and Will, who might really have just been the front man for Edward de Vere
and others who may have collaborated to produce that extraordinary collection of work as was done in 'Henry VI Part I;  my favorite supposition being Christopher Marlowe's death was faked and he was spirited off to Italy where he continued to write for the stage through Will, but I digress. ;)

You should imitate writers you enjoy, Cheryl. It's schooling.
It won't turn you into them, it just focuses your muse to
be able recognize what works in your own writing and
when you read or review the work of others later on.

The delight of trying to write like Shakespeare, or whoever, is that it makes reading him a whole new experience, because you're not just a reader anymore, you're a poet reading a fellow poet, a student learning from the a master to appreciate the nuances of skill in any century.

Here are the opening lines of the prologue in Henry V:

"O for a muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention:"

Isn't this what we all want to have going for us in the language department
when we sit down and try to clothe a concept? A muse who rises to the occasion.
Well, we have to feed that muse.

So, imitate like crazy: one line, one phrase or a whole poem; imitate Milner, Tom, Bob the Science guy, Emily and Will, and Elliot and Coleridge and Plath and Sexton and Berrigan and everyone else that interests you.
Give them your rainy afternoons.

Maggie