Thursday Tim Parks has written a provocative essay for The New York Review of Books, asking, Is literature wise? In the sense, does it help us to live? And if not, what exactly is it good for? If you follow this blog, you already know my answers: –Yes, literature is wiser than we are (and […]
Tag Archives: William Shakespeare
What Lit Is Good For–A Debate
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charles Dickens, Herbert Marcuse, King Lear, Little Dorrit, Madame Bovary, Tempest Comments closed
Iago Trump Whispers Poison into Our Ears
Of all Shakespeare characters, Trump, driven by racial resentment and thriving on chaos, may most resemble Iago.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Othello, racial resentment, racism Comments closed
My Three Book Projects
In which I share my first three sabbatical–I mean retirement–book projects.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Sir Gawai, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, William Wordsworth, Writing Comments closed
Mike Pence=Elmer Gantry + Uriah Heep
Columnist George Will calls Mike Pence a cross between Elmer Gantry and Uriah Heep. I see the two and raise to a Dante sycophant and Shakespeare’s Cassius.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charles Dickens, Dante, David Copperfield, Elmer Gantry, Inferno, Julius Caesar, Mike Pence, Sinclair Lewis Comments closed
Trump, Like Macbeth, Does Murder Sleep
“Macbeth,” a psychological study of a tyrant, also illumines aspects of Donald Trump.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged authoritarians, Donald Trump, Macbeth, Richard III, tyrants Comments closed
Once More into a War, Dear Friends
Over the weekend, Trump’s new National Security Adviser sent strong signals that he wants a war with Iran. Shakespeare’s Henry V had similar advisers.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Battle of Agincourt, Henry V, Iran agreement, John Bolton Comments closed
Inducting Students into an Honor Society
Our English Department’s Sigma Tau Delta induction ceremony included passages from Willa Cather, Shakespeare, and Emily Dickinson.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "We never know how high we are", Emily Dickinson, Henry V, honor societies, Oh Pioneers!, Sigma Tau Delta, Willa Cather Comments closed
Weather Report: Death’s Untimely Frost
Having winter intrude upon our spring has me quoting Burns and Shakespeare.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged cold snap, Highland Mary, Robert Burns, Sonnet 18, weather Comments closed
Battered by a Raging Stormy
Stormy Daniels’s power over Donald Trump brings to mind various literary storms, such as Lear’s and those described by Mary Oliver and H.D.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Lightning", "Storm", Donald Trump, H.D., King Lear, Mary Oliver, Stormy Daniels Comments closed
