Poetry Feature: Shakespeare and McCarthy
Seven of the Hollywood Ten, 1950
Shown from left: Samuel Ornitz, Ring Lardner Jr., Albert Maltz, Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole, Herbert Bieberman, Edward Dmytryk. Courtesy of Photofest
To Be or Not to Be, Now or Ever:
A Dialogue Between Shakespeare and McCarthy
To be, or not to to be, that is the question
Are you now, or have you ever been, that is the question
Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Under a Fascist regime
Or take up arms against a sea of troubles
End them, fight for justice, freedom and democracy,
Are you now, or have you ever been, that is the question
McCarthy and the House Un-American Committee want to know
Are you a member of the Communist Party now?
Have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?
That is the question, The House wants to know
But the Hollywood 10 (took up) arms against a sea of trouble and opposed them
And by opposing them end(ed) them
’Tis a consummation devoutly to be wish’d
To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream…
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
A Spain of equality, justice and liberty for all
The war in Spain ended, Democracy died
Franco and Fascism, the law of the land
A decade has passed, McCarthy still wants to know
Are you now, or have you ever been, that is the question
Hollywood actors, directors, producers were asked
Are you now, or have you ever been, that is the question
McCarthy’s inquisitions recklessly ruined, shattered
Careers and lives of Hollywood’s finest
Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?
With this regard their actions turn awry and lose the name of action.
In violation of the Five Core Freedoms of the Constitution
To be, or not to be
are you now
have you ever been
eighty years on
the question unanswered
La lucha continúa
Alan D. Entin, PhD, ABPP, is a photographer and family psychologist specializing in generational trauma who writes about photographs and family secrets and has pioneered the use of photographs in therapy. His uncle, Bernard Entin, served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and died in the Battle of Brunete.
