Monthly Archives: March 2011

A sonnet’s been milling about in my brain for several moons, so finally, here it is: Shakespeare’s Pearls He speaks of pearls as tears and worlds and eyes Their lustre seeming to reflect one’s pain A surface smooth and yet … Continue reading →

In a way, Shakespeare has moved closer to mythology in the last four plays. Though we do not have the woods, strange creatures, or fairies, we have impossible situations that are seemingly hopeless. And yet they are resolved. That is … Continue reading →

In the last four plays, Shakespeare has come full circle. We dance with wild abandon through the comedies and pastorals, our senses full and reeling. We are called to believe, to hope, to experience love irrepressable. But amid the laughter, … Continue reading →

Cymbeline has me thinking. First, I had to train myself to see Cymbeline as an English King, and not the fairy that name conjures up for me for some reason. Then, it took a bit to get the other characters … Continue reading →

I enjoyed hearing the reading from Bookworms, wherein the author compares his mother to Lear. Embodied in his words–the truth that people are flawed, and still we love. We all have our Lears, maddening, endearing, crippling, inspiring. It is much … Continue reading →

What a tremendous lecture that was, so full of insight and meaning, beginning with calling attention to the very first word, “Nay.” It really is significant and I hadn’t noticed. That’s why I love listening to experts–I can glean in … Continue reading →

“The winds and persecutions of the sky.” Act 2 sc. 3. What a way to say Storm, with a good deal of subtext. Was this a foreshadowing of The Tempest? Funny how symbols pertinent to a writer evolve over time. … Continue reading →

Apparently Dumbar and Kennedie, two Scots, were the maestros at this odd phenomena called flyting. One line from their discourse gives a good idea of their terrible verbal expertise: Kennedie suggests Dumbar “Descended from Beelzebub, is a dwarf, and has … Continue reading →