The end of the semester is swiftly approaching, and I’ve forgotten how much I loved being able to add textbooks to my book list for the year. I think a few of these books will be really helpful later on in my program, and I think they even have some great information to pass on […]
2015 has been the year of excellent nonfiction, and Joseph Loconte’s book did not disappoint. The full title is A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18, and Loconte does justice to all of those topics in under 300 pages, which is pretty impressive.
If you ever need proof that history repeats itself, read Henry IV, Part II. Just like Henry IV, Part I, this play focuses on King Henry IV, his son Hal, and Hal’s less than perfect friends. In Part 2, however, Shakespeare plays on the reader’s expectations. He knows we are all waiting for Hal’s reformation, waiting for Hal to “banish plump Jack, and banish all the world.” He knows we are waiting, and he makes us wait. And wait. And then wait some more.
Every year I try to read from several different genres, poetry included. While I’ve read some poetry this year, this was my first book of poetry of 2015. Dog Songs by Mary Oliver is a collection of poems written about and in celebration of dogs. The poems are short and simple, and there is also a great […]
Confession time: About fifteen minutes into this film I had to go get my copy of the play and follow along. I could hardly understand what anyone was saying, and it was difficult to understand the plot. There are a lot of people in these plays, and none of them go by their real names! If […]
Prince Hal is the Shakespearean character I want to love–but it’s tricky. At the beginning of the play, he’s a prodigal son. He wastes time in taverns, pulls pranks, and commits petty crimes. It’s easy to like this Prince Hal, the easygoing, carefree friend of Falstaff. But there’s an edge to Hal that doesn’t let you laugh along with him.
Happy November! In an effort to avoid bogging down the Internet with all things Shakespeare, I thought it would be fitting to share with you some quotes about the new month. L. M. Montgomery is the author of the Anne books, and she writes some great descriptions of the seasons. For some reason these three quotes […]
Happy Saturday! I’m always stumbling across cool videos and links on Facebook, but I thought this one was especially relevant. I’ve been reading through Shakespeare’s histories, and this video is really good background information. I’ve always wondered why Shakespeare’s poems never quite rhymed. Even if you aren’t a Shakespeare fan, you should check this one out. Apparently Elizabethan […]
If I had to pick a theme song for the first two history plays I’ve read so far, it would be “Another One Bites the Dust.” The play begins with a king who has blood on his hands. Once Henry deposes Richard, we see a new king with the same old problem. He’s guilty as well, and his hands are not clean.
One of my long-term goals is to read through all of Shakespeare’s works. Last year I started on his history plays, which was a larger undertaking than I realized. I only managed to read one–Richard II– during 2014. This year, I’m determined to finish three more by January 1. I thought I’d share the process here […]
Book Fifty 