RSS Subscription
Cobbe Portrait of William Shakespeare
Tag Archives: Hamlet
“We look back at Shakespeare and regret our absence from him because it seems an absence from reality.”
Conclusion to The Play’s The Thing Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————————- Honestly, I can’t believe it’s over. For two and half years, We’ve been reading and talking and thinking about Shakespeare. And to help bring this to a close, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, All's Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, Comedy, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, drama, Falstaff, Hamlet, Henry IV, Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, Henry V, Henry VI Parts One Two and Three, Henry VIII, Julius Caesar, king henry iv, King John, King Lear, language, Love's Labour's Lost, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Pericles, Prince Hal, problem play, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard II, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, sonnet, The Comedy of Error, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Winter's Tale, Timon of Athens, titus andronicus, tragedy, Troilus and Cressidas, Twelfh Night, Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare, writing
24 Comments
“Who besides Shakespeare can continue to inform an authentic idea of the human?”
Conclusion to The Play’s the Thing Part One By Dennis Abrams It’s hard to believe it’s been two and half years since we started our journey through Shakespeare’s plays. For me, it’s been incredibly educational, fulfilling, inspiring, and downright fun. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra, Comedy, conclusion, drama, Elizabethan theater, Falstaff, Hamlet, Henry IV, history, king henry iv, King Lear, language, Lear, literature, Macbeth, Prince Hal, romance, Shakespeare, the play's the thing, tragedy, William Shakespeare
16 Comments
“O you heavenly charmers,/What things you make of us! For what we lack/We laugh, for what we have we are sorry; still/Are children in some kind.”
The Two Noble Kinsmen Act Five By Dennis Abrams —————— Act Five: Palamon and Arcite, each accompanied by three knights, separately pray for success, while Emilia prays that whoever loves her best will emerge victorious. Back at the jail, the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A Knight's Tale, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act Five, Arcite, Chaucer, Christopher Marlowe, Diana, disgust, Emilia, entertainment, Flavina, Hamlet, heavenly creatures, Hippolyta, irony, James I, John Fletcher, Julius Caesar, language, literature, Mars, Palamon, Shakespeare, Tamuburlaine the Great, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Thersites, Theseus, three knights, Troilus and Cressida, Venus, William Shakespeare, writing
1 Comment
“It is a falsehood she is in, which is with falsehoods to be combated.”
The Two Noble Kinsmen Act Four By Dennis Abrams Act Four: The Jailer’s Daughter, now completely mad, is reunited with her father. Observing her behavior, the Doctor advises that the only possible remedy is if a former suitor (the Wooer) … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act Four, adaptation The Rivals, All's Well That Ends Well, Arcite, charles lamb, Comedy, drama, Duke Theseus, Emilia, Hamlet, Helen, Hippolyta, Jailer's Daughter, John Fletcher, language, literature, Palamon, Palamon and Arcite, Polonius, Shakespeare, the Restoration dramatist William Davenant, The Two Noble Kinsmen, the Wooer, two kinsmen, William Shakespeare, writing
Leave a comment
“Only a little let him fall before me,/That I may tell my soul, he shall not have her.”
The Two Noble Kinsmen Act Three By Dennis Abrams Act Three: Separated from the royal party while out celebrating May Day, Arcite is suddenly confronted by Palamon. The two argue over Emilia once again, before agreeing to fight a duel … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act Three, Arcite, As You Like It, Emilia, entertainment, friends, Hamlet, Jailer's Daughter, John Fletcher, King Lear, Knight’s Tale, language, literature, Ophelia, Palamon, Palamon and Arcite, Shakespeare, The Schoolmaster, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Theseus, Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare, writing
Leave a comment
“His purposes here are very enigmatic, he abandons his career-long concern with character and personality and presents a darker, more remote or estranged vision of human life than ever before.”
The Two Noble Kinsmen An Introduction By Dennis Abrams After the political intrigue of Henry VIII, it would be difficult to imagine a play more different than the one which followed it onto the stage. The Two Noble Kinsmen concluded … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, Arcite, Chaucerian Talbot Donaldson, drama, Falstaff, Hamlet, Hippolyta, hymen, Introduction, John Fletcher, King Lear, Knight’s Tale, language, literature, Palamon, Pirithous, Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Theseus, Three Queens, tragicomedy, William Shakespeare, writing
2 Comments
“On the desert island the history of the world has been performed. The performance is over; history begins once more.”
The Tempest Act Five, Part Three By Dennis Abrams ———————————— I want to conclude our examination of The Tempest with this, from the great Jan Kott: “Who is Prospero and what does his staff signify? Why does he combine knowledge … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Act Five, Antony and Cleopatra, Ariel, Caliban, Caliban Shakespeare, Comedy, Don Juan, Elizabethan theater, entertainment, Ferdinand, Giordano Bruno, Hamlet, history, island, Jan Kott, Joseph Conrad, language, literature, Miranda, Prospero, Prospero's staff, romance, Shakespeare, The Tempest, tragedy, Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare, writing
Leave a comment
“..I’ll break my staff,/Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,/And deeper than did ever plummet sound/I’ll drown my book.”
The Tempest Act Five, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ————————— From Harold Bloom: “Ariel is our largest clue to understanding Prospero, though we have no similar aid for apprehending this great sprite, who has very little in common with Puck, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Act Five, Ariel, Caliban, Comedy, drama, Endgame, entertainment, Hamlet, Harold Boom, island, language, literature, Medea, Miranda, Prospero, Prospero's staff, Samuel Beckett, Shakespeare, The Tempest, William Shakespeare, writing
8 Comments
“For mine’s beyond beyond…”
Cymbeline Act Three, Part One By Dennis Abrams ——————————– Act Three: In Britain, Cymbeline has refused to pay the annual tribute to Rome, to which the Roman ambassador Lucius responds by declaring war. Meanwhile, Pisanio has received a letter from … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Act Three, Ancient Britain, Belarius, Britons, Cymbeline, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, entertainment, Hamlet, history, Iachimo, Imogen, Innogen, King of England, language, Last Plays, late plays, literature, politics, Posthumus, Shakespeare, tragicomedy, Wales, William Shakespeare, writing
Leave a comment
“Imogen is one of the great women of Shakespeare or the world.”
Cymbeline Act One, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ——————————– From Harold Bloom first, whose dislike for the play I find rather bewildering: “Cymbeline begins with a conversation at court between two unnamed gentlemen, one a stranger, thus allowing Shakespeare to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged act one, Cloten, Comedy, Cymbeline, drama, Hamlet, history, history play, Imogen, James I, King Lear, language, late play, literature, Macbeth, Posthumus, Posthumus Leonatus, Shakespeare, tragedy, tragicomedy, Wicked Stepmother, William Shakespeare, writing
3 Comments
The Play's The Thing 