Tag Archives: Marriage

The Roots of a Beautiful Marriage

Spiritual Sunday Every time I visit Slovenia (six times now, the first two for year-long Fulbrights), I learn something new. In my most recent visit, I discovered it is common for couples to live together for years before getting married (if they ever do). While I can’t speak to overall statistics, I talked with several […]

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Celebrating 45 Years of Marriage

To commemorate the 45th anniversary of my marriage to Julia, I turn to Donne’s “Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.”

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Shakespeare for a Midsummer Wedding

A couple of years ago a former student opted for a “Midsummer Night’s Dream”-themed wedding. For many reasons, it was a perfect choice.

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Resolving Shakespeare’s Shrew Problem

“The Taming of the Shrew” is one of Shakespeare’s problem plays because it seems to endorse Kate signing on to a male domination fantasy. Modern productions such as the Synetic Theater’s non-verbal version have to make adjustments to satisfy modern audiences.

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Donne Can Help with a Separation

Today is my 43rd wedding anniversary and, although Julia and I plan to be together for many more years, we will live apart next year. John Donne’s “Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” may help us out.

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Trollope and Patriarchal Marriage

My portraying traditional Victorian marriages, Anthony Trollope exposes the pathologies that came with them.

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Pound’s Description of a Long Marriage

With every passing year of my marriage, which hits 42 years today, my appreciation for Ezra Pound’s “River-Merchant’s Wife” grows.

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A Song of Love for Julia

My wife’s beautiful name becomes synonymous with longing in both a Robert Herrick and a John Lennon lyric.

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Bechdel Uses Lit to Understand Her Life

Alison’s Bechdel time and again turns to literature in her memoir to understand her upbringing.

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