Sons

November 25th, 2015 → 5:23 am

“And to be boy eternal.” – Winter’s Tale

For the next month I’ll be doing a different kind of blog – about my son.  Check it out here!

Filed under: Blog & Other

ShakeDic: taffety punk

November 22nd, 2015 → 6:13 am

“As fit as ten groats is for the hand of an attorney,
as your French crown for your taffety punk.” – All’s Well That Ends Well

“Taffety punk” is a prostitute that is finely dressed.  So much more evocative than “a prostitute that is finely dressed.”  I love it!  Was Julia Roberts the best taffety punk ever, or what?

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art

Twitter

November 19th, 2015 → 6:07 am

“Let the bird of loudest lay…
Herald sad and trumpet be,
To whose sound chaste wings obey.” – The Phoenix and the Turtle

It took me a long time (too long?), but I finally joined Twitter yesterday.  I certainly won’t be the bird of loudest lay (lay=song or voice), and I sure hope I won’t be heralding everyone to a funeral (which is what is happening in this less-well-known poem of Shakespeare’s), but I do hope to have something to contribute, and soon.  So stay tuned.

Filed under: Blog & Other

Paris

November 15th, 2015 → 12:54 pm

“Death lies on her like an untimely frost
Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.” – Romeo and Juliet

My thoughts are with the families of the victims…

Filed under: Blog & Other & Stupid/Evil People

Virginity

November 11th, 2015 → 5:16 am

“Virginity… ‘Tis too cold a companion.  Away with ‘t!”

“To speak on the part of virginity is to accuse your mothers,
which is most infallible disobedience.”

“Besides, virginity is peevish, proud, idle, made of self-love,
which is the most inhibited sin in the canon.”

“Virginity… the longer kept, the less worth.”
                                                                         – All’s Well That Ends Well

I’m reading All’s Well That Ends Well this month with my reading group.  Act 1 Scene 1 is hilarious!  The bawdy sex talk, the innuendo, the oh-so-strong condemnation of virginity.  There is more in the scene than what is quoted above, but I’ve copied at least a few of the lines that brought a smile to my face.

Filed under: Blog & Other

Angel Street (Gaslight)

November 8th, 2015 → 6:41 am

“‘Tis but the shadow of a wife you see;
The name and not the thing.” – All’s Well That Ends Well

I went to a production of the play Angel Street (Gaslight) last night.  It portrays a woman psychologically abused by her husband.  I knew I was supposed to feel sympathy for her as I watched the play, but I just kept thinking, stand up for yourself already!  Believe in yourself!  Thank goodness the majority of women today aren’t so dependent on their husbands, as they were 100+ years ago.  Kudos to progress, however slow and marginal it seems at times!

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art

Climate Change

November 4th, 2015 → 5:14 am

“Diseased nature oftentimes breaks forth
In strange eruptions.” – Henry IV, Part One

The weather in St. Louis is supposed to be in the high 70s today.  In November!  I can remember when it used to snow around now.  I know weather doesn’t equal climate, but this warmth sure feels out of the ordinary.

Filed under: Blog & Other

Feminist Shakespeare

November 2nd, 2015 → 5:50 am

“Good grows with her:
In her days every man shall eat in safety
Under his own virtue, what he plants; and sing
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbours:
God shall be truly known; and those about her
From her shall read the perfect ways of honour,
And by those claim their greatness, not by blood.” – Henry VIII

I just finished reading Women of Will by Tina Packer, a book that follows the feminine in Shakespeare’s canon.  It’s not an easy read, but it was interesting.  And it claims that Shakespeare was something of a feminist in his writings – generally showing their strength, insight, and most importantly love, as always the better alternative to war, fighting, and aggression.  I’m not sure I buy all the arguments in the book, but I’m all for love, not war, so call me a feminist too!

Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art