My name is Ramsey, but you may call me: The Puzzleboy.
Welcome to Series Two! The scoreboard, known as The Puzzleboy Pantheon, has been reset and you are all (temporarily) viewed as equals in my eyes. Enjoy it, but please don’t get used to it.
I don’t know how it’s possible, but we are already in our second series of The Puzzleboy and we have not named an official composer and lyricist. Obviously that can not stand, so let’s fix that immediately:
THE OFFICIAL COMPOSER AND LYRICIST OF THE PUZZLEBOY IS, AND FOREVER SHALL BE MR. STEPHEN SONDHIEM.
Mr. Sondheim was a legend of the American musical but he also loved a good puzzle. The brand new book Matching Minds with Sondheim by Barry Joseph digs deep into the puzzles and games played and created by Mr. Sondheim and I, Your Puzzleboy, found it incredibly fascinating and incredibly inspiring. (To be clear, I have not been asked to plug this book: I just really, really loved it.)
To celebrate this new book, and the work of Sondheim himself, we kick off Series 2 with a tribute to theater, writing, and the intricate treasure hunts created by Stephen Sondheim.
Puzzle Seven is entitled: “They have their exits and their entrances…”
Your Directions: Welcome. Our scavenger hunt will take place in the sonnets of William Shakespeare. Locate the nine lines below. Follow any special directions made of you. Any of Will’s punctuation marks can be ignored.
Sonnet 46, line 1
Sonnet 120, line 7
Sonnet 88, line 12
Sonnet 115, line 2
Sonnet 59, line 13
Sonnet 105, line 9
Sonnet 62, line 12 (delete the last three letters)
Sonnet 42, line 3
Sonnet 60, line 3 (delete the last three letters)
Once you have these nine lines in front of you and you take the full puzzle into account, you’ll be ready to answer the final question: What separates those who could solve this puzzle from those who could not?
To submit your answer, please click this link and fill out the form. You have until 11:59pm ET on November 25th to submit your guess. There is no advantage to being first, so take your time!
NOTE: You are more than welcome to use the comment section of this post, but this is decidedly not the place to submit your answer or share hints. Doing so may result in your disqualification.
And remember, as William Shakespeare once wrote: “Good Lord, what madness rules in brainsick men…”
