http://www.shakespeareteacher.com/blog/archives/1438 I have nothing but respect (and envy!) for Shakespeare Teacher’s ability to pull out such creative wonders as this summation of “The Best of the Bard”:
A witches’ brew. A fiery shrew. A knavish sprite. A portly knight. A maid’s disguise. A Jew’s suprise. A bastard’s plan. Each age of man. A paper crown. A motley clown. A nightmare haunt. This John of Gaunt. A guarded door. A jealous Moor. A castaway. St. Crispin’s Day.
A eulogy. A balcony.
The death of kings.
And other things…
I’m a bit stuck on “nightmare haunt”, though…
?Hamlet. More properly a nighttime haunt, but a fair approximation.
A haunting Hermione appeared to Antigonus in his bad dream (The Winter’s Tale)
Could be J Caesar or Richard III.
Thanks for the kind words.
The “nightmare haunt” is meant to be from Richard III.
Hamlet is deliberately excluded from the rhyme, as this was a part of an invitation, and Hamlet is referenced at the end. You can click through for the full context.