John McCain is John of Gaunt to John Kelly’s Coriolanus. Guess which one loves his country more.
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Tag Archives: William Shakespeare
Kelly as Coriolanus? Dear God, No!
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Coriolanus, Donald Trump, Fascism, Henry VI Part I, John Kelly, John McCain, popular rule, Richard II Comments closed
Assertive Women Drive Lear, Trump Mad
Lear is driven mad by his assertive daughters. Are strong women like the San Juan mayor also sending Trump around the bend?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged assertive women, Carmen Yulin Cruz, Donald Trump, Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Comments closed
Trump in Chaucer, Shakespeare & Conrad
When compared to people called “dotard” in Chaucer and Shakespeare, Trump fits the insult hurled at him by Kim Jong-un. His statement to African leaders, meanwhile, makes him sound like a “Heart of Darkness” ivory trader.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Africa, Capitalism, Donald Trump, Geoffrey Chaucer, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, Kim Jong-un, King Lear, Wife of Bath Comments closed
Nazis and the Classics
Do the classics make us better people. F. R. Leavis thinks so while Terry Eagleton disagrees and cites as an example concentration camp commandants who read Goethe.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged book burnings, Fascism, Goethe, Nazis, Terry Eagleton Comments closed
Even Iago Should Not Be Tortured
Examining an upcoming trial by people who were tortured during the George W. Bush administration, Ariel Dorfman examines the face of Iago and the satisfaction we take at the tortures that await him.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ariel Dorfman, CIA torture, Iago, Iraq War, Othello, torture Comments closed
Lit Frees Us from Our Mental Ghettos
In a fine “New Yorker” article, Shakespearean Stephen Greenblatt argues that Shakespeare was incapable to showing anything less than the full humanity of his characters, even the villains. He thereby liberates us from our “mental ghettos.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged anti-Semitism, cultural heritage, Humanities, Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, T. S. Eliot Comments closed
Lincoln Transformed Depression thru Lit
Melancholy threatened to paralyze Abraham Lincoln in his early years. Literature helped him give voice to his depression and taught him how to turn it into an asset.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Dream", "Raven", Abraham Lincoln, Depression, Edgar Allan Poe, First Inaugural Address, Macbeth, Manfred, unipolar disease Comments closed
WaPo’s Petri Plays Shakespearean Fool
Washington Post humorist Alexandra Petri has been having a lot of fun with Trump supporters’ attack on “Julius Caesar.” Here are some of her funniest barbs.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aleandra Petri, Crucible, Hamlet, Humor, Ice Man Cometh, Julius Caesar, Long Day's Journey into Night, Macbeth, Master Builder, Newt Gingrich, Raisin in the Sun, Rent Comments closed