Will Shakespeare thought that fellows creep
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"Unwillingly to school,"
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And must to pore o'er knowledge deep
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Be driven like a mule.
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The classics were the goals pursued
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By boys in Willie's day,
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The English tongue was far too rude
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Save for the common play.
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New teachings have sprung up since then,
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We've buried all that rot,
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We will no longer wield the pen!
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We have the Turkey Trot.
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We care not what old Tullius raves,
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And really must confess:
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He should have sunk beneath the waves
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Ere Catiline's address.
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The greatest Julius when he stood
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Most mighty o'er the mass,
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With all his tact he never could
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Have thrown a forward pass.
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At Homer who told tales of Troy
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We raise an awful din,
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We'd rather hear Sir Eddie Foy
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Sing "Ragtime Violin."
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Salome too was not the whirl
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The Semites used to think,
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Why Miss Deslys could make that girl
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Sit down and take a drink.
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For modes and ways have changed a bit
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Since Shakespeare was a boy,
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The empty fads have made a hit
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And ignorance is joy.
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The Modern Student
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Ray Charles |