A very long time ago, when I was taking my SATs, I encountered a short, four letter word in the analogy section that I didn’t know: bane. Reader, if you are under the age of 17 and still have SATs… Read More
Recently I visited the Poison exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It included a toxicological explication of the witches’ poem in MacBeth, which, by happy coincidence, my son is reading in English class right now… Read More
This past Wednesday, I went to see Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Broadway.
It starred some incredible actors (an all male cast) in period dress, which is cool in and of itself, but the coolest thing about it, for me, was… Read More
“Dead as a doornail,” “wild goose chase,” “a piece of work,” “break the ice,” and “knock-knock/who’s there?” are all phrases we owe to Shakespeare.
… Read More
Poor Richard.
Richard III, I mean, the last of the Plantagenet kings (1452 – 1485). He’s the one who’s been very much in the news lately, because they found his remains beneath a car park in Leicester, England.
He also… Read More
As any ninth grader who’s slogged through Julius Caesar can tell you, Shakespeare borrowed some of his plots from history. But at least two of Shakespeare’s plays were probably inspired by current events from his own day.
He wrote The… Read More
William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) signed his name with many different spellings, including “Willm Shaksp,” “William Shakespe,” “Wm Shakspe,” “William Shakspere,” ”Willm Shakspere,” and “William Shakspeare.”… Read More
In Henry IV, part 2, Falstaff asks a page, “What says the doctor to my water?”
In Twelfth Night, when Malvolio is believed to be mad, Fabbio suggests that they “carry his water to the wise woman” to be diagnosed.… Read More
You’ve no doubt heard the news—it’s been all over the place these past few days—that the remains of King Richard III (1452 – 1485) have been found underneath a car park in Leicester, England. They’ve been formally identified by archaeologists,… Read More
During the 1918 flu pandemic, wearing white cotton masks in public places was mandatory in San Francisco. Police complained that robbery rates went up.