Shakespeare on October and Fall Poetry

Posted on October 14, 2012 by jimmie

the year growing ancient, yet on summer's death, nor on the birth of trembling winter”Sir, the year growing ancient,
yet on summer’s death, nor on the birth
Of trembling winter”
(Winter’s Tale act 4, sc. 4)

Comments.  Dr. Johnson observed in the “Idler” that “It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm.” That may have been true until historically recent times, especially in the Anglo-saxon world, including of course America. Today, Continue reading →

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Shakespeare, Autumn and Climate Change

Posted on October 12, 2012 by jimmie

The spring, the summer, The chiding autumn, angry winter, change ...“… The spring, the summer,
The chiding autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries; and the ‘mazed world,
By their increase knows not which is which.”
(Midsummer Night’s Dream act 2, sc. 1)

Comments. After months of seemingly interminable dryness, rain has returned to Portland and to what Alistair Cook called “the damp England of Oregon”. Change in patterns alters perception and even the raindrops of a calm rainfall sound louder than usual. The month of October, Portland and rain are inked in a kind of triad. Even a song made popular by Sinatra Continue reading →

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Shakespeare and the Military-Industrial Establishment

Posted on October 11, 2012 by jimmie

phad I power, I should Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell“…Nay, had I power, I should
Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell,
Uproar the universal peace, confound
All unity on earth.”
(Macbeth act 4, sc. 3)

Comments.  Eugene Debs (1855 – 1926), an American union leader and one-time member of the Democratic Party wrote,
“The feudal barons of the Middle Ages, the economic predecessors of the capitalists of our day (Deb’s day, today we have the neo-liberists), declared all wars. And their miserable serfs fought all the battles. The poor, ignorant serfs had been taught to revere their masters Continue reading →

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Shakespeare on Greed for Gold and Consequences

Posted on October 10, 2012 by jimmie

How quickly nature falls into revolt when gold becomes her object“How quickly nature falls into revolt,
When gold becomes her object!”
(King Henry IV part 2, act 4, sc.4)

Comments.  When the future Henry V tried the crown on his head in the room where his ailing father was dying, his intent was misunderstood. He was not anxious to wear the crown before his time and explains so to his father when questioned.
But the observation can be applied to an individual as well as to a society. Today the world is bursting at the seams with people Continue reading →

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Shakespeare, Love at First Sight and Consequences

Posted on October 9, 2012 by jimmie

a maid whose sudden sight hath thrall'd my wounded eye“And let me be a slave, to achieve that maid
Whose sudden sight hath thrall’d my wounded eye.”
(Taming Of the Shrew, act 1, sc. 1)

Comments. Recent scientific research (how I like this) has shown two explanations for love at first sight and related data. One, it takes an average of 0.13 seconds to determine the attractiveness of a person. And two, the first few minutes of a relationship have shown to be predictive of the relationship’s future success. This outweighs factors such as, for example, what two people have in common.
Plato gives a more intriguing explanation. Continue reading →

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Shakespeare’s Warning against Marketing Lies

Posted on October 8, 2012 by jimmie

“…Let me have no lying: it becomes none but tradesmen”
(Winter’s Tale, act 4, sc. 3)

Comments.  Thinking that lying be amenable to curbing is senseless. Even politicians have found a set of Orwellian alternatives to the act of lying. Why condemn as a sin what is actually a virtue? In our post-industrial society of the spectacle and of spectacular authority truth is concealed behind veils of generalized secrecy. Secrecy, by being unanswerable, has given what is false an entirely new quality. Continue reading →

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Shakespeare on Social Issues and the 1%

Posted on October 7, 2012 by jimmie

Let the superfluous and lust-dieted man feel your power quickly“…Let the superfluous and lust-dieted man,
That slaves your ordinance, that will not see
Because he doth not feel, feel your power quickly;
So distribution should undo excess,
And each man have enough.”
(King Lear, act 4, sc. 1)

Comments.  The ordinance or order Gloucester refers to, was established by the Heavens and it implies a sense of balance and justice. The superfluous and the ‘lust-dieted’ man, instead, has subverted the order of things and attempted to appropriate that very order for his own slavish needs. Which is exactly Continue reading →

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Shakespeare on the Uses of Poetry

Posted on October 6, 2012 by jimmie

Truly, I would the gods had made thee poetical.“Truly, I would the gods had made thee poetical.”
(As You Like It, act 3, sc. 3)

Comments.  The Greeks had not one but four Muses of Poetry, Calliope (Epic poetry), Euterpe (Lyric poetry), Thalia Pastoral poetry) and Polyhymnia (Sacred poetry). Suggesting that poetry was more embedded in life and thought that our contemporaries may think.
But in an editorial at the beginning of year 2012 the Guardian wrote, “If new year’s resolutions are about self-improvement then politicians should surely be making longer lists than most, and somewhere on those lists, below rekindling the spluttering flame of the economy, should be embracing the English language. Like a sculptor’s chisel or a fisherman’s net, Continue reading →

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Shakespeare on Age, Birthdays and the Passing of Time

Posted on October 5, 2012 by jimmie

My glas sshall not persuade me I am old as long as youth and thou are of one date“My glass shall not persuade me I am old
As long as youth and thou are of one date.”
(Sonnet 22)

Comments.  Isn’t it true that we can see youth reflected back, at least virtually or in imagination? The idea could not be said better than with these lines.
Tips for Use. Answer to “How old are you?” when you intend to deflect the question. Turn the situation around and make it an occasion Continue reading →

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Shakespeare on the Pretended Difference between Obama and Romney

Posted on October 4, 2012 by jimmie

the weight of a hair will turn the scales between their avoirdupois“…the weight of a hair will turn the scales between their avoirdupois.”
(King Henry IV part 2, act 2, sc. 4)

Comments.  Some of us cannot even watch a so called presidential debate – there are limits as to being able to endure hypocrisy. But reports and transcripts are available. They show the unbridgeable gulf between the corporate-controlled political system and the concerns of what has come to be called the average American. Obama never referred to or used the words “poverty” and “unemployment”.  They Continue reading →

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