Richard III was not fairly treated by Shakespeare. Historical accuracy aside, the Bard still gave us a powerful depiction of evil.
Tag Archives: Richard III
Richard III, Slimed by Shakespeare
All Authoritarians Are Like Richard III
Shakespeare gives us a brilliant depiction of the authoritarian mindset in “Richard III.” Think Trump and Putin.
Cruz Is No Willie Stark or Richard III
Ted Cruz? More Willie Stark crossed with Chevy Chase or Richard III played by Mr. Bean?
A Wretch Concentered All in Self
Look to Sir Walter Scott, not to Shakespeare, to sum up Donald Trump’s exit.
Trump & Covid: Tragedy or Farce?
Was the Rose Garden event for Trump’s new SCOTUS pick–which became a Covid superspreader event–a Shakespearean tragedy? How about a farce?
Are We Watching Shakespeare or Beckett?
Friday When assuring my English majors that they will find jobs in the world beyond college, I sometimes point out that they are experts in narrative. Increasingly we are learning how much we process reality through stories, and political operatives talk ceaselessly about “controlling the narrative.” How you organize facts (or for that matter, lies) […]
Which Shakespeare Character Is Trump?
Wednesday It’s satisfying to see national pundits take a page out of Better Living through Beowulf and turn to the classics to understand Donald Trump. Okay, so NeverTrumper conservative Bret Stephens has probably never read this blog, but we both recognize how literature deepens our understanding of the world, including American politics. I particularly appreciate […]
Trump, Like Macbeth, Does Murder Sleep
“Macbeth,” a psychological study of a tyrant, also illumines aspects of Donald Trump.
Shakespeare Understood Trumpism
According to Adam Gopnik, Shakespeare would have understood the rise of Donald Trump better than we do today. Whereas we see him as a historical oddity, Shakespeare would have seen him as the kind of evil that has always resided within humankind.