Thanks to all of you who posted your text digests of Shakespeare. Honourable mentions to the following:
K8 8s Ptruchio den dznt.
Daughters, Nature, Madness, neverx5
Mcbth 1, Dncn 0, Bnquo winz on pointz.
Hal5 go 2 frnce, gts in sht, mks gd spch, kcks frg btt.
Hamlet: prnc tks 4 hrs 2 kll stp-pa, dyz.
x2sep@Birth,meetL8R,HAHA
IOU 1lb flesh. CU in court. - Antonio ;-)
But for brevity, hilarity and sheer reductive brilliance, there could only be one winner. Round of applause for Mr Claw, whose distillation of Shakespeare's Othello into the four-word
Dsdmna: sht wrs m'hnky?
provided the benchmark for breviloquence. Mr Claw, email us at books.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk with your details, and we'll send you your prize.
Finally, can't leave without expressing my joy at Callum's abbreviation of Sonnet 18, not strictly eligible for the prize as it wasn't a play, but fabulous nonetheless:
U R > Sunny day.
Coming soon to a Valentine's Day card near you ...