Shaun, if a play is written in verse, then it is both a play and verse. So I count all of Shakespeare's writing in verse--including the songs and blank verse of his plays--as poetry. When I talk about Shakespeare's range, I am alluding to the range of human experience that he covers in his plays, and the range of tone and technique that he suits to the range of content. Milton doesn't do comedy, and there are large swaths of human experience that he doesn't touch on. He is moving, impressive, and memorable in what he does cover, but Shakespeare is more versatile.
Susan
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