May 2nd, 2017 → 5:28 am
“To climb steep hills
Requires slow pace at first.” – Henry VIII
I wasn’t familiar with this pithy aphorism before reading it in Shakespeare the other day. (Warning, I’m currently re-reading Henry VIII, so I’ll likely be quoting it a lot in the next few weeks.) It is true, though: to get something big done, pace yourself.
April 24th, 2017 → 6:07 am
“Who is it that can tell me who I am?” – King Lear
No one, but since I’m not one for unfounded conspiracy theories, I’ll just assume Shakespeare was Shakespeare and celebrate the joy of his birth (which was sometime this week). Happy birthday Shakespeare and thanks for the beautiful literature!
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Other
April 16th, 2017 → 5:34 am
“God be praised, that to believing souls
Gives light in darkness, comfort in despair!” – Henry VI, Part II
Happy spring holiday everyone, be it Easter, Passover, Ramanavami, or any of the others I’m forgetting to name.
April 12th, 2017 → 5:30 am
“Those that do teach young babes
Do it with gentle means and easy tasks.” – Othello
A Dutch friend of mine forwarded me this article on Dutch schoolchildren. Apparently they rank #1 in well-being, while American children rank #26 (out of 29 rich industrialized countries studied). I’m not surprised, nor am I surprised by the general recommendation to ease up on young kids. What I was surprised about was the lack of regular homework Dutch children are assigned until their early teens. Their early teens! My son would die of joy – too bad we’re not Dutch.
March 14th, 2017 → 9:22 am
“Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace! The charm’s wound up.” – Macbeth
There aren’t many quotes in Shakespeare involving numbers, certainly none involving Pi. But in my investigations I did learn that three and nine were considered magic numbers in Shakespeare’s day, where superstitions were common. Here the famous three witches of Macbeth are using 3 and 9 in their spell casting. Happy 3.14159… day!
February 22nd, 2017 → 5:45 am
“We came into the world like brother and brother,
And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another.” – Comedy of Errors
A Jewish cemetery that I drive by nearly every day was vandalized this week. In response a Muslim American group started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to repair the damage. They reached their goal in three hours. Now that is what makes America great.
February 18th, 2017 → 5:06 am
“Hope is a lover’s staff.” – The Two Gentlemen of Verona
What a striking sentiment. True. Deep. Concise. Clear. When you are young and in love, you hope the other will return your affection. When you are later a newlywed, you hope your future will be bright and full. Once you are a long time married, you hope the relationship stays the course, that your lover will not lose faith or lust. After you are widowed/divorced, you hope you’ll find love yet again. Hope really is the crutch all love leans upon.
February 14th, 2017 → 6:42 am
“They do not love that do not show their love.” – The Two Gentlemen of Verona
In reading The Two Gentlemen of Verona, I came across this line in Act I. Do you think it’s true? That if someone doesn’t demonstrably show you their love, they must not love you? So if my husband doesn’t make a big display on Valentine’s Day, he no longer loves me? What if he only makes a small display, is his love then small? I guess I’ll have to wait and see what he does, then I’ll decide. 😉
January 5th, 2017 → 6:06 am
“Meet the time as it seeks us.
We fear not.” – Cymbeline
Stefan Zweig opened his memoirs with this line (at least, the first line), before he committed suicide in 1942. He was trying to understand, and face, Nazi Germany and all the upheaval happening in Europe at the time. It seems fitting today. 2016 was such a tumultuous year, and we don’t know what 2017 will bring. But let’s face it, and try to fear not.
December 5th, 2016 → 5:46 am
“Jack shall have Jill
Nought shall go ill;
The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Let’s hope so!
As the holiday season comes upon us I’ll be taking my usual blogging break, from now until the beginning of January. See you in 2017 and until then, take care and Happy Holidays!