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Cobbe Portrait of William Shakespeare
Tag Archives: James I
“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
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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
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“It seems the marriage with his brother’s wife/Has crept too near his conscience.” “No, his conscience/Has crept too near another lady.”
Henry VIII (All Is True) Act Two By Dennis Abrams —————————————– Act Two: As Buckingham heads to his execution, rumors begin circulating that Henry plans to divorce his wife Katherine with Wolsey’s approval, and in fact Cardinal Campeius has traveled … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Three, All Is True, Anne Boleyn, Anne Bullen, Blackfriars, Bloody Mary, Buckingham, Cardinal Campeius, Cardinal Wolsey, Charles Laughton, Church of England, divorce, drama, Elizabeth I, Frank Kermod, Henry VIII, history, history play, Holbein, James I, Katherine of Aragon, King Henry, King Henry VIII, Lady Anne Boleyn.’, language, literature, Mary I, politics, Princess Elizabeth, religion, Shakespeare, The Private Life of Henry VIII, Thomas Cranmer, William Shakespeare, writing
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“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
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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
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“‘King Lear’ gives one the impression of life’s abundance magnificently compressed into one play.”
King Lear An Introduction By Dennis Abrams ———————————— We are now, I think, at the peak of Mount Shakespeare. King Lear has long had a reputation as the ultimate in tragedy – this tale of a difficult father driven mad … Continue reading
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Tagged Ancient Britain, charles lamb, Cordelia, drama, Edmund, Elizabethan tragedy, evil, G. Wilson Knight, Geneva Bible, genius, good, Hamlet, Introduction, James I, Jan Kott, King Lear, language, Lear, literature, nahum tate, politics, Shakespeare, shakespeare king lear, shakespearean play, the Fool, tragedy, william hazlitt, William Shakespeare, writing
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“Is this a dagger which I see before me,/The handle toward my hand?”
Macbeth Act Two, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————– I hope you’re all enjoying Macbeth as much as I am. Having read as much Shakespeare as I’ve done (and as you’ve done) over the last year and a half, I … Continue reading
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Tagged AC Bradley, Act Three, Banquo, dagger, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, James I, King Duncan, Lady Macbeth, Lady Macduff, language, literature, Macbeth, macbeth act, macbeth banquo, Macduff, politics, Scotland, Scottish play, Shakespeare, tragedy, William Shakespeare, writing
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“I would, while it was smiling in my face,/Have plucked my nipple from its boneless gums/And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn/As you have done to this.”
Macbeth Act One, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————— It would be fascinating to know what James I – or any of his contemporaries for that matter – made of the other strong female character in the play – the … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Two, Banquo, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, entertainment, Gunpowder Plot, James I, joan la pucelle, joan of arc, Lady Macbeth, language, literature, Macbeth, macbeth act, macbeth shakespeare, politics, renaissance humanism, Shakespeare, tragedy, Weird Sisters, William Shakespeare, witches, writing
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“When shall we three meet again?/In thunder, lightning, or in rain?/When the hurly-burly’s done,/When the battle’s lost, and won.”
Macbeth Act One, Part One By Dennis Abrams ————— MAIN CHARACTERS King Duncan of Scotland Malcolm, Duncan’s elder son Donalbain, Duncan’s younger son A Captain in Duncan’s army Macbeth, Thane of Glamis Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s wife Porter at Macbeth’s castle … Continue reading
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Tagged AC Bradley, act one, Banquo, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, entertainment, James I, Lady Macbeth, language, literature, Macbeth, macbeth banquo, politics, queen of the witches, renaissance humanism, Scotland, Shakespeare, The King's Men, The Scottish Play, tragedy, usurpation, Weird Sisters, William Shakespeare, witchcraft, witches, writing
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” The triumph of ‘Macbeth’ is the construction of a world, and nothing like it has ever been constructed in twenty-one hundred lines.”
Macbeth An Introduction By Dennis Abrams ——————————– It’s Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy. And his darkest. But more than 400 years after it was written, it still retains its ability to shock. “The Scottish Play,” as it is superstitiously known in the … Continue reading
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Tagged drama, Elizabethan tragedy, James I, Lady Macbeth, language, literature, Macbeth, politics, Scotland, Scottish play, Shakespeare, tragedy, William Shakespeare, witches, writing
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“Murder most foul, as in the best it is,/But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.”
Hamlet Act One, Part Five By Dennis Abrams ——————————– This is going to be my last post on Act One. I’m going to take a day off tomorrow, and my next post will be Sunday evening/Monday morning (depending on what … Continue reading
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Tagged act one, Act Two, books, Claudius, Comedy, doubling, drama, Elizabethan drama, Elizabethan theatre, Elizabethan tragedy, Elsinore, Gertrude, Ghost, Guildenstern, Hamlet, hamlet act, history, introductory material, James I, language, literature, Luther, Mary, myth, Ophelia, politics, Queen of Scots, reformation, renaissance humanism, revenge, Rosencrantz, Shakespeare, shakespearean tragedy, tragedy, William Shakespeare, Wittenburg
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The Play's The Thing 