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Cobbe Portrait of William Shakespeare
Tag Archives: Rome
“Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues/We write in water.”
Henry VIII (All Is True) Act Four By Dennis Abrams —————————- Act Four: The coronation of Anne takes place with great ceremony, but her triumph cruelly coincides with Katherine’s decline. Lying sick at Kimbolton, Katherine has a vision of celestial … Continue reading
“And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer/Never to hope again.”
Henry VIII (All Is True) Act Three By Dennis Abrams —————————– Act Three: The case stalls until Katherine decides to relent following a visit from Wolsey and Campeius. But a further hold-up occurs when deceitful letters sent from Wolsey to … Continue reading
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Tagged A Man For All Seasons, Act Three, All Is True, Anne Boleyn, Anne Bullen, Buckingham, Campeius, Cardinal Wolsey, Church of England, divorce, drama, Duke of Buckingham, Elizabeth I, entertainment, Henry VIII, history, history play, Holinshed, Katherine of Aragon, language, literature, politics, pope, religion, Richard II, Richard III, Rome, Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More, six wives, The King, Tudor politics, William Shakespeare, Wolsey, writing
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“‘Cymbeline’ offers the chance to take on an utterly transporting text, sing a song, dance a jig, have a sword fight, play lovers, villains, and fools, and have another sword fight, all before the intermission.”
Cymbeline Act Four, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ————————- Before we probe deeply into Act Five after our New Year’s break and try to figure out exactly what Cymbeline is all about, I thought it might be nice to share … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Four, Belarius, characters, Cloten, Comedy, Cymbeline, drama, entertainment, Fiasco Theater, headless, Imogen, language, literature, Posthumus, Rome, Shakespeare, The Princess Bride, trunk, William Shakespeare, writing
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“Fear no more the heat o’ th’ sun/…Thou thy worldly task hast done,/Home art gone and ta’en thy wages./Golden lads and girls all must,/As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.”
Cymbeline Act Four, Part One By Dennis Abrams —————————- Act Four: While out hunting, Belarius and his “sons” meet up with Cloten and kill him after he challenges them. Imogen, meanwhile, not feeling well, takes the Queen’s “medicine” provided by … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Four, angel, Belarius, Cloten, Cymbeline, deception, drama, entertainment, Fear no more the heat o' th' sun, headless corpse, Hercules, Imogen, intelligence, language, literature, lyric, lyric poetry, Posthumus, revenge, Rome, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, writing
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“We have almost as great an affection for Imogen as she had for Posthumus; and she deserves it better. Of all Shakespeare’s women she is perhaps the most tender and the most artless.”
Cymbeline Act Three, Part Two By Dennis Abrams —————————— From Bloom: “Posthumus, even as an ideogram, is no fun. Shakespeare knew that a play must give pleasure, yet he portrays Posthumus as a very painful character, whose name refers both … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Three, Cymbeline, Cymbeline Shakespeare, distinctive voice, drama, entertainment, Henry V, history play, Iachimo, Imogen, King of Britain, language, Last Plays, late plays, literature, Posthumus, romances, Rome, Shakespeare, The Old Man and the Sea, tragicomedy, william hazlitt, William Shakespeare, writing
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“I lodge in fear./Though this is a heavenly angel, hell is here.”
Cymbeline Act Two, Part One By Dennis Abrams ——— Act Two: Determined to win his bet, Iachimo asks Imogen to safeguard a large trunk which he (surprise!) hides in, coming out as she sleeps and stealing her bracelet. Returning to … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Two, Aldous Huxley, Ancient Britain, Ben Jonson, Cymbeline, drama, history, Iachimo, Imogen, jealousy, King of Britain, language, late play, lectures on Shakespeare, literature, Lucrece Shakespeare, Posthumus, Posthumus Leonates, Rome, Shakespeare, the real world, tragicomedy, trunk, William Shakespeare, writing
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“Coriolanus did not love the people. But this does not mean that Coriolanus should be condemned. In that sentence there is in a nutshell the bitter drama of Renaissance humanism; of any humanism, in fact.”
Coriolanus Act Five, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————————- From Jan Kott: “But Shakespeare’s world is crowded, and there are no empty spaces in it. There are just patricians, plebeians, and enemies of Rome. Coriolanus can only choose his place … Continue reading
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Tagged A.C. Bradley, Act Five, Coriolanus, drama, Elizabethan tragedy, Jan Kott, language, Laurence Olivier, literature, Mussolini, Peter Hall, politics, Roman Republic, Rome, Shakespeare, Stratford, tragedy, Volumnia, William Shakespeare, writing
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He holds her by the hand, silent.
Coriolanus Act Five, Part One By Dennis Abrams ———————————————————– Act Five: Meanwhile, Rome is desperate to win back its savior, so first Cominius, then Menenius, are sent out to persuade Coriolanus to return. Both fail, but Virgilia, Volumnia, Valeria and … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Five, Aufidius, Caius Martius, Caius Martius Coriolanus, Coriolanus, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, mother, name, names, nature, politics, Roman Republic, Rome, Shakespeare, titus andronicus, tragedy, Volumnia, William Shakespeare, writing, Young Martius
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