“A plague on both your houses” doesn’t work for Mercutio or for citizens today.
Tag Archives: Romeo and Juliet
A Plague on BOTH Houses? No, Only One
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged GOP, Government shutdown, politics, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Shakespeare with a Smart Phone
The plays would have been different if Shakespeare’s characters had had access to social media.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Midsummer Night's Dream, social media, Tempest, Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Chicago’s Roman de la Rose
What’s in a name? Would Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose by any other name smell as sweet?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Basketball, Derrick Rose, Gertrude Stein, Sports, William Shakespeare Comments closed
A Plague on Both Your Houses!
“A plague on both your houses!” So I found myself venting at both Christian and Muslim zealots as I heard the recent news in Afghanistan. In this case, the Montagues were Pastor Terry Jones and his fundamentalist followers who burned a Koran in South Carolina while the Capulets were the fundamentalist Muslims (a crowd exiting a mosque) who attacked and killed United Nations workers in Afghanistan.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Fundamentalism, politics, Religious Conflict, William Shakespeare Comments closed
American TV, the World’s English
Image from Poltergeist I am pleased that Jason Blake, who teaches English at the University of Ljubljana, is becoming a regular contributor to this website. As an English speaker living in Slovenia, Jason is particularly sensitive to questions of language. In the following essay he triggers memories for me when he talks about how television, […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Bald Soprano, English Language, Eugene Ionesco, George Mikes, How to Be an Alien, Language Acquisition, teaching, Television, William Shakespeare Comments closed
After the Mess, Can Obama Be Fortinbras?
I’ve been thinking recently about how every Shakespearean tragedy concludes with a restoration of order. The stage may be strewn with corpses and the spectator’s heart may have broken into a thousand little pieces, but (as though to provide some reassurance) someone steps forward at the end to set things straight. In Hamlet it is […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Capitalism, Deregulation, Environment, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Nature, Othello, politics, William Shakespeare Comments closed
