Tag Archives: William Shakespeare

Trump’s Love Test Resembles Lear’s

By Robin Bates | Published: February 8, 2024

Trump, like Lear, sets up love tests for followers. South Carolina Sen. Scott recently “passed” in the same way that Goneril and Regan pass.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Donald Trump, King Lear, love tests, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott | Comments closed

The Novel that Moved Me the Most in 2023

By Robin Bates | Published: December 28, 2023

Through O’Farrell’s “Hamnet,” I found myself mourning my own son.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Blue Sword, death and dying, grieving, Hamlet, Hamnet, Hero and the Crown, Maggie O'Farrell, Robin McKinley | Comments closed

McCarthy a Greek Hero? NOT!

By Robin Bates | Published: December 13, 2023

Kevin McCarthy is no tragic hero. He does resemble a minor figure from “Julius Caesar,” however.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Ajax, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Kevin McCarthy, Oedipus, Sophocles | Comments closed

Beowulf’s Lessons in How to Grieve

By Robin Bates | Published: December 7, 2023

Hamlet, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight each show us powerful ways to grieve.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Angus Fletcher, Beowulf, death and dying, grieving, Hamlet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Wonderworks | Comments closed

Hamlet Taught Us a New Way to Grieve

By Robin Bates | Published: November 29, 2023

In “Hamlet,” Shakespeare taught the world a powerful new way to grieve.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Angus Fletcher, Beowulf, grieving, Hamlet, W;t, Wonderworks | Comments closed

Does Hamlet Speak for Generation Z?

By Robin Bates | Published: November 28, 2023

Note: If you wish to receive, via e-mail, (1) my weekly newsletter or (2) daily copies of these posts, notify me at [email protected] and indicate which you would like. I promise not to share your e-mail address with anyone. To unsubscribe, send me a follow-up email. Wednesday My faculty reading group has plunged into Hamlet, and our engagement […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged 2024 election, America's youth, Donald Trump, Generation Z, Hamlet | Comments closed

Bloom: The Bard Invented the Human

By Robin Bates | Published: November 26, 2023

I examine how Harold Bloom believes that Shakespeare changed history.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Defence of Poetry, Harold Bloom, Merchant of Venice, Percy Shelley, Prefact to Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Shakespeare The Invention of the Human | Comments closed

Trump’s Lean and Hungry Plotters

By Robin Bates | Published: November 16, 2023

There is a tide in the affairs of Trump supporters that, taken at the flood, will lead them to do anything to take power. “Julius Caesar” is warning us.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged coup attempts, crossing the Rubicon, Donald Trump, January 6 insurrection, Julius Caesar, Steve Bannon | Comments closed

My Brilliant Friend, Cure for Loneliness?

By Robin Bates | Published: November 15, 2023

The child perspective in Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend” creates a special bond with the reader.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Angus Fletcher, Charlotte Bronte, Childhood, Company We Keep, Elena Ferrante, Emily Bronte, first person point of view, Hamlet, Jane Eyre, John Knowles, My Brilliant Friend, opera, penny dreadfuls, Separate Peace, Wayne Booth, Wonderworks, Wuthering Heights | Comments closed