Monthly Archives: November 2023

Austen’s Revolutionary Style

By Robin Bates | Published: November 20, 2023

Austen may have innovated a way to blend satire with romance as a way to protect us from heartbreak.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Emma, Emma Bovary, free indirect style, Geoffrey Chaucer, Gustave Flaubert, Henry Fielding, Horace, ironic romance, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, Tom Jones | Comments closed

Rom-Coms, Defense against Heartbreak

By Robin Bates | Published: November 19, 2023

One way of seeing “Tom Jones” is as “valentine armor,” alternating between romance and light satire. As such, it saves us from broken hearts.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Comedy, Don Quixote, Henry Fielding, Miguel de Cervantes, Pamela, Romantic Comedy, Samuel Richardson, Shamela, Tom Jones | Comments closed

The Meaning of Holy Texts of Terror

By Robin Bates | Published: November 18, 2023

Biblical stories of violence confront us with wrenching questions. Rabbi Rebecca Barenblat’s poems grapple with it.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "Jael", "Judges Tryptich", Biblical violence, Dan Clendenin, Devorah, Israel Gaza, Journey to Jesus, Nancy Hightower, Rachel Barenblat, Terrorism | Comments closed

Trump’s Lean and Hungry Plotters

By Robin Bates | Published: November 16, 2023

There is a tide in the affairs of Trump supporters that, taken at the flood, will lead them to do anything to take power. “Julius Caesar” is warning us.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged coup attempts, crossing the Rubicon, Donald Trump, January 6 insurrection, Julius Caesar, Steve Bannon, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

My Brilliant Friend, Cure for Loneliness?

By Robin Bates | Published: November 15, 2023

The child perspective in Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend” creates a special bond with the reader.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Angus Fletcher, Charlotte Bronte, Childhood, Company We Keep, Elena Ferrante, Emily Bronte, first person point of view, Hamlet, Jane Eyre, John Knowles, My Brilliant Friend, opera, penny dreadfuls, Separate Peace, Wayne Booth, William Shakespeare, Wonderworks, Wuthering Heights | Comments closed

Swift Understood Trumpian Fascism

By Robin Bates | Published: November 14, 2023

Trump’s use of “vermin” to characterize his enemies is fascist talk. “Gulliver’s Travels” shows where such talk can lead.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged American fascism, dehumanization, Donald Trump, Fascism, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift | Comments closed

Biden Is No Beowulf–And That’s Okay

By Robin Bates | Published: November 13, 2023

Biden lacks Beowulf’s leadership charisma but has other gifts, ones recognized by Wiglaf.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Beowulf, Joe Biden, leadership | Comments closed

A Vet Sees Himself in Odysseus

By Robin Bates | Published: November 12, 2023

In Huey’s poem, a veteran who has seen combat frames his experience in terms of “The Odyssey.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "We Were All Odysseus in Those Days", Amorak Huey, Homer, Odyssey, Saving Private Ryan, Veterans, Veterans Day, war | Comments closed

Dante’s Version of Heaven on Earth

By Robin Bates | Published: November 11, 2023

In talking to Solomon in Paradiso, Dante gets a new vision of heaven on earth.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "World", Birches, Dante, Heaven on earth, Henry Vaughan, Inferno, Paradiso, Robert Frost | Comments closed