When NYT columnist David Brooks called Ted Cruz “dark and satanic,” he was referencing a Blake poem. But although the allusion is apt, it struck most people as weird or offensive because they didn’t recognize the source.
Tag Archives: David Brooks
Ted Cruz–Dark and Satanic?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Jerusalem", electoral politics, GOP primary, Marco Rubio, politics, Ted Cruz, William Blake Comments closed
Prince Hal in Today’s School System
David Brooks argues that today’s “nurturing, collaborative” educational system would have kept Shakespeare’s Prince Hal from becoming one of England’s great kings.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Boys, Education, Henry IV Part I, Stolen Valor Act, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Tolstoy, the Novelist vs. the Activist
One thing I appreciate about the New York Times is that many of its columnists routinely mention literature. Maureen Dowd probably does so the most (note this passing reference to T. S. Eliot’s Wasteland), and I once wrote a column on Roger Cohen’s use of The Great Gatsby in a piece on President Obama. (Cohen wrote […]
Christopher Hitchens, Literary Bully
I confess to bristling when I hear the name Christopher Hitchens.The intellectual provocateur has been in the news recently, first for publishing his memoirs and second for contracting throat cancer.Although he is smart and well read, he has always struck me as a self-righteous intellectual bully, one who is more interested in toppling icons than […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Christopher Hitchens, Darkness at Noon, George Orwell, Graham Greene, Hitch-22, How Green Was My Valley, Plato, politics, Republic, Richard Llewellyn, Wilfred Owen Comments closed
Better Austen than Bronte on the Court
An interesting New York Times column by David Brooks has me doing some more thinking on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s enjoyment of Pride and Prejudice. Here is some of what he wrote: About a decade ago, one began to notice a profusion of Organization Kids at elite college campuses. These were bright students who […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Elena Kagan, Gail Collins, Jane Austen, politics, Pride and Prejudice, satire, Supreme Court Comments closed
