Pink Floyd Meets Shakespeare

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Pink Floyd's David Gilmour has long captivated audiences around the globe with his mesmerizing voice. His music is considered a staple of classic rock, so I was surprised when I saw his adaptation of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18. Even though I had watched videos of several different poets, I was still the most impressed by this video. His musical rendition of an old poem appeals to new audiences, creating a fresh experience even for those who have read it a number of times. Gilmour seamlessly blends the sonnet's beautiful words to the soft sound of a piano, merging two masterpieces.

The text in and of itself is not a new. It has been recited over and over again for hundreds of years. The vast majority of students have been assigned Sonnet 18 as homework in high school, and have been asked to read and analyze it. There is also an overabundance of movies which allude to this work. The sheer amount of popularity that Shakespeare has leads to its overuse. This can often make the text seem dry and boring -- in dire need of some sprucing up -- something that David Gilmour effectively does.

In the video, there is also a large use of cinematic effect when it comes to lighting and calming images. It was interesting that Gilmour chose to include scenes filmed on a sunny and peaceful river to his adaptation. The song does not require any such images and could have been produced as a stand-alone adaptation. However, the gaiety and innocence of such scenes create a spell-binding tone for a sonnet about admiring a lover, allowing it to be more effectively consumed by the audience.