Looking to the Linen
In his 1693 treatise A Short View of Tragedy, the English critic Thomas Rymer famously distilled a lesson from Shakespeare’s …
Category Archives: Musings
Words into Life
The Greek god Dionysos, god of many names, known to the Romans as Bacchus, god of wine, of theatre, of …
Plots and Errors: The Cumberbatch Hamlet
Heightened anticipation often leads to disappointment. After purchasing tickets one full year in advance and traveling to London to see …
The Comfort of Sheep
The great house Chatsworth, in Derbyshire, U.K., is the ancestral country home of the Cavendish family – the Dukes of …
Amulets of the Heart
What is a talisman? One thinks of rattles, fierce masks, human hair – something meant to ward off evil or …
The Mobius of Love
The figures of Romeo and Juliet are so iconic in western culture, and the notion of Shakespeare’s “star-cross’d” lovers so …
Elegance and the Godzilla Test
Walking to work last week, I saw two young things in front of me wearing what can only be described …
Holding Up the Sky
The usual depiction of the titan Atlas, carrying the weight of the celestial sphere, is a classical view of the …
Whose Sleeves?
In classical Japanese painting there is a style of picture called “Whose Sleeves” (Tagasode), in which the painter depicts a …
Lady Day
I was in Italy recently and on March 25th there was a feast day honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus. …
Poets' Sinews 