Tag Archives: Richard II

Richard II and Our Own Succession Issues

By Robin Bates | Published: October 21, 2024

Shakespeare’s “Richard II” maybe be about an absolute monarch but what it says about succession issues are relevant today.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Donald Trump, Election 2024, Peaceful transfer of power, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

In “Crown,” Philip Gets Auden, Not Keats

By Robin Bates | Published: December 1, 2020

“The Crown” makes productive use of poetry to move the action. In three Season #3 episodes, we encounter Kipling, Shakespeare, Keats & Auden.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Mandalay", "Moon Landing", British royal family, Crown, Endymion, John Keats, Rudyard Kipling, W.H. Auden, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Covid Costs Us Loved Ones’ Final Words

By Robin Bates | Published: July 12, 2020

Among the many tragedies related to Covid is how family and friends are missing out on final words. Many literary works touch on the importance of this last encounter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Aeschylus, Agamemnon, COVID-19, death and dying, death bed words, Henry Fielding, Song of Solomon, Tom Jones, Toni Morrison, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Kelly as Coriolanus? Dear God, No!

By Robin Bates | Published: October 24, 2017

John McCain is John of Gaunt to John Kelly’s Coriolanus. Guess which one loves his country more.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Coriolanus, Donald Trump, Fascism, Henry VI Part I, John Kelly, John McCain, popular rule, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Only Wimps Complain about Shakespeare

By Robin Bates | Published: June 15, 2017

Preeminent Shakespearean Stephen Greenblatt calls out people for whining about the Shakespeare-in-the-Park production of “Julius Caesar.” After all, Queen Elizabeth I once had a Shakespeare play used against her in an attempted overthrow and just shrugged it off.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Donald Trump, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare in the Park, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Will No One Rid Me of This Russia Probe?

By Robin Bates | Published: June 9, 2017

When former FBI Director James Comey, in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, quoted Henry II–“Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest”–he brought to mind both T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral” and Shakespeare’s “Richard II.” He took the right lessons from history by not murdering the Russia investigation.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Donald Trump, Henry II, James Comey, Murder in the Cathedral, Russia investigation, St. Thomas A. Becket, T. S. Eliot, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Kill All the Lawyers? Nope, We Need Them

By Robin Bates | Published: October 12, 2016

A district judge reflects upon what lawyers and judges can learn from Shakespeare, including “Othello,” “Merchant of Venice, “Hamlet,” “King Lear,” most of the history plays, and others.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Antony and Cleopatra, civility, Hamlet, Henry IV Part 2, Henry IV Part I, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3, Julius Caesar, King Lear, lawyers, legal system, Macbeth, Merchant of Venice, Othello, Richard III, trust, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

The Bard Could Improve Lawyer Behavior

By Robin Bates | Published: April 17, 2014

A judge makes his case about how Shakespeare can improve lawyer professionalism.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged courts of law, Hamlet, Henry VI Part II, judges, King Lear, lawyers, Macbeth, Merchant of Venice, Othello, William Shakespeare | Comments closed

Shakespeare in the Courtroom

By Robin Bates | Published: April 16, 2014

A Georgia judge is guided by Shakespeare and sometimes cites the Bard in his rulings.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged courtroom, judges, Justice, King Lear, lawyers, Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare | Comments closed