Tell me where is fancy bred.Or in the heart or in the head?
How begot, how nourish’ed?
It is engendered in the eyes,
With gazing fed, and fancy dies
In the cradle where it lies.
Let us all ring fancy’s knell
I’ll begin it.
Ding, dong, bell…
—William Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice
Image of Shakespeare cropped from painting likely by John Taylor. It comes via the National Portrait Gallery and is in the public domain.
