Category: Shakespeare

What Good Is Poetry? Shakespeare’s ‘Winter’ and the Hard Joys of the Season

The world bound up in the snow and ice of winter is as fascinating as it is forbidding. Hoary mountains, blinding blizzards, snowy deserts, solid waters, fluid fires of the aurora borealis, and air that stings to breathe all give the distinct impression that men ought not keep company with such inhospitable presences. But how…


Nuts for Winter: Education That Enriches People With More Than Just Skills

Commentary I am a Conservative. Being conservative has very little to do with the political left or the political right. So let’s extricate conservatism from the left/right polarity and see it for what it really is: an attitude of mind that respects humanity but recognizes its limitations; that cautiously believes in progress but not just…


Shakespeare’s Timeless Teachings

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts.” —William Shakespeare While I’m far from qualified to teach a course on the subject of Shakespeare, there’s profound wisdom to be found in his works. And…


Summer, Shakespeare, Mendelssohn, and Weddings

Two works of art in the same medium can often be connected like pearls on a string, one leading to the creation of another, and then another. However, just as often, several works of art in different media can be interconnected in something more like a three-dimensional nexus. That can be fascinating to explore from…


Should Shakespeare Be Purged From English Curricula?

Commentary A recent article in School Library Journal (SLJ) titled “To Teach or Not to Teach: Is Shakespeare Still Relevant to Today’s Students?“ reports that many English teachers want Shakespeare removed from school curricula to “make room for modern, diverse, and inclusive voices.” After all, “Shakespeare’s works are full of problematic, outdated ideas, with plenty…