Rightwing groups have started attacking empathy itself, which literature fosters. Ayn Rand would approve but not Shakespeare.
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Tag Archives: King Lear
The Right’s Attacks on Empathy
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ayn Rand, empathy, Fountainhead, William Shakespeare Leave a comment
The Madness of Donald Trump
In which I compare Trump’s madness with that of King Lear.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Christopher Marlowe, Dante, dementia, Doctor Faustus, Donald Trump, Inferno, Love Song of J. Alfred Pruforck, Marjorie Taylor Greene, T.E. Eliot, William Shakespeare Comments closed
How Sociopaths Like DJT Escape Justice
Brundage’s magnificent crime novel “All Things Cease to Appear” frustrates our longing for accountability—as does DJT.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged accountability, All Things Cease to Appear, crime novel, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Bundage, Heart of Darkness, Importance of Being Earnest, Joseph Conrad, Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Macduff as the Trump Resistance
“Macbeth” is probably the best Shakespearean play for capturing the Trump presidency and Trump resistance.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Macbeth, Pete Hegseth, William Shakespeare Comments closed
DJT’s Cabinet: Jumping Frogs, Lilliputians
Three literary comparisons for Trump’s cabinet: Twain’s jumping frog, Lear’s elder daughters, Swift’s Lilliputians
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Department of Justice, Donald Trump, Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain, Pam Bondi, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Two Wind-Obsessed Narcissists
Trump and King Lear, two wind-obsessed narcissists. But only one connects with his soul.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged climate change, Donald Trump, renewables, William Shakespeare, wind power Comments closed
Stop the Clocks: This Is the Hour of Lead
Auden’s mourning poem “Stop All the Clocks” captures the mood of those who saw a fascist triumph in the American presidential election.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "After great pain a formal feeling comes", "Stop All the Clocks", Donald Trump, Election 2024, Emily Dickinson, Kamala Harris, W. H. Auden, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Our Lear Is Running to Be King Again
In an essay reposted from 2017 that is still relevant, I compare Trump’s narcissism with King Lear’s.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Election 2024, narcissism, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Harris’s Use of Goneril Tactics
In Tuesday’s presidential debate, Harris played Goneril and Regan to Trump’s King Lear. With differences, of course.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Election 2024, Kamala Harris, presidential debates, William Shakespeare Comments closed