[Max Goodman]

I may not understand this poem. That it's painful not to be able to use "thou" and "wert" (which I take to be the subject) doesn't interest this reader. FWIW.

Originally Posted by N. Matheson

I am more terrified than I can express of being forgotten.

A poem that strongly captured that terror might have a chance of being remembered.

[Roger Slater]

That couldn't be more on point with regard to a certain someone than if you had added "and they are orange and obsessed with crowd size."

[Julie Steiner]

The sad irony is that what made Shakespeare's work great was his empathy — his ability to set aside his own ego and inhabit other points of view.

For poets whose only goal is building up their own egos by reaching for Shakespearean "greatness," while ignoring his works' empathy, the only way in which their work COULD resemble Shakespeare's is through cosmetic superficialities like copied quirks of syntax, vocabulary, and typography.

[Carl Copeland]

Originally Posted by Julie Steiner

The other Shakespearean was MUCH more unpleasant and combative. ... Eventually he dared the mods and administrators to ban him ... and I assume his wish was granted.

Was P. actually banned? He claimed the Sphere banned dissenters from the party line and seemed genuinely surprised that he hadn’t been. The next day I saw him lurking, and then he disappeared. He was asking for it, but I can never figure out how real all the ban stories are.

[Julie Steiner]

I don't know. If P. was banned, he's probably waving it around as a badge of martyrdom, and we don't have to put up with his contempt for us petty, two-bit poets and our petty, two-bit site rules anymore. A happy outcome for all.

The Eratosphere guidelines say:

Engaging in actions which disrupt the functioning of any forum and/ or any Moderator (including making posts which, though not necessarily ad hominem, frequently trigger contentious discussion threads) may result in the suspension of Membership or a permanent ban.

N. hasn't come anywhere near crossing that sort of line. I do wonder why he is workshopping his poems here if he doesn't really care what we think about them, but that certainly won't get him kicked out. It might make a lot of readers less likely to waste their time commenting on his next poem, though.