In pardoning the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, Trump has cried “havoc” and let slip the dogs of war (to quote from “Julius Caesar”).
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Tag Archives: William Shakespeare
Trump Has Let Slip the Lapdogs of War
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Jan. 6 insurrectionists, Julius Caesar, presidential pardons Comments closed
Shakespeare in a Divided America
Shapiro’s “Shakespeare in a Divided America” shows that the Bard has made an appearance in most of American history’s key moments.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged censorship, Hamlet, James Shapiro, Julius Caesar, MAGA, Merchant of Venice, Othello, Romeo and Juiet, Shakespeare in a Divided America Comments closed
Lit Packs a Powerful Punch
My book “Better Living through Lit” this past year was only one of several making the case that literature can be social dynamite.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beloved, Ben Jonson, Better Living through Literature, book bans, Christopher Marlowe, Dangerous Fictions, Harold Bloom, Hesiod, Homer, Iliad, Lyta Gold, Odyssey, Oscar Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray, Plato, Toni Morrison Comments closed
Stop the Clocks: This Is the Hour of Lead
Auden’s mourning poem “Stop All the Clocks” captures the mood of those who saw a fascist triumph in the American presidential election.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "After great pain a formal feeling comes", "Stop All the Clocks", Donald Trump, Election 2024, Emily Dickinson, Kamala Harris, King Lear, W. H. Auden Comments closed
America: Indivisible Despite the Divides
As the American election hangs in the balance, Alicia Ostriker holds two contradictory visions of America in balance.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "I Too Sing America", "Ghazal America the Beautiful, Alicia Ostriker, America the Beautiful, American Dream, Langston Hughes, Midsummer Night's Dream, Patriotism, Star Spangled Banner Comments closed
Kamala Harris as Shakespeare’s Henry V
Kamala Harris resembles Shakespeare’s Henry V in some important ways.
Our Lear Is Running to Be King Again
In an essay reposted from 2017 that is still relevant, I compare Trump’s narcissism with King Lear’s.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Election 2024, King Lear, narcissism Comments closed
Richard II and Our Own Succession Issues
Shakespeare’s “Richard II” maybe be about an absolute monarch but what it says about succession issues are relevant today.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Election 2024, Peaceful transfer of power, Richard II Comments closed