By the end of “Paradise Lost,” John Milton has discovered a powerful response to suffering.
Monthly Archives: November 2011
A Paradise within Thee, Happier Far
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Epic, John Milton, Melodrama, Paradise Lost, Suffering Comments closed
If Indiana Jones Raided Iran . . .
The scene in “Raiders of the Lost Arc” where Indiana Jones defeats a sword-twirling antagonist by shooting him articulates a fantasy that most of the Republican candidates for president are indulging in as they discuss Iran’s nuclear bomb ambitions.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Foreign Policy, Iran, nuclear proliferation, politics, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Steven Spielberg Comments closed
Jane Austen & My Son’s Secret Wedding
A secret marriage entered into by my son Toby could have been taken straight out of Jane Austen’s “Emma.”
The Perfection and Poetry of Tyrants
W. H. Auden’s chilling “Epitaph on a Tyrant” matter-of-factly shows the deadly but seductive simplicity that characterizes dictators like Qaddafi and Assad.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Arab Spring, Bashar al-Assad, Dictators, Muammar Qaddafi, violence, W. H. Auden Comments closed
Lit, an RX for Fanaticism?
Israeli author Amos Oz believes that literature can provide “a partial and limited immunity to fanaticism.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Nose", Fanaticism, Franz Kafka, Nikolai Gogol, Trial, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Honor Your Gifts and Patiently Wait
Rather than lament the loss of the his eyesight–and therefore potentially his writing–in “On His Blindness” John Milton resolves to accept the new road laid out for him.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "On His Blindness", John Milton, Religion, Spiigualigy Comments closed
A “Greatest Generation” Vet Reflects
World War II vet Scott Bates remembers the war far differently from the images we have of it–not as heroic but as “people surrounded by dying men.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "The Greatest Generation", Scott Bates, war, World War II Comments closed
Quick Note on Rick Perry’s “Oops”
Rick Perry’s “oops” moment in last night’s Republican debates brings to mind a passage in a Tom Stoppard play.
