Another St. Valentine, another Shakespearean Compliment

The field's chief flower, sweet above compare, Stain to all nymphs… More white and red than doves or roses are“The field’s chief flower, sweet above compare,
Stain to all nymphs…
More white and red than doves or roses are”

(Venus and Adonis)

As a curiosity item, here is a letter from an illustrious and historical character to his Valentine of the time – when the Internet was the stuff of improbable miracles or of myth or of what today we call science fiction. To add a little frisson, I will reveal the author only at the end of this blog.

To my mistress
Because the time it seems to me very long, since I haven’t heard from you, Continue reading

Posted in Best Shakespeare Quotes, Compliments, Elegant Shakespearean Quotes, Romantic Shakespearean Quotes, Shakespeare on Flowers, Shakespeare on Sex & Gender Roles, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style, William Shakespeare Love Quotes | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Shakespeare on the Latin in the Pope’s Resignation Text

I smell false Latin“I smell false Latin.”

(Love’s Labours Lost, act 5, sc. 1)

Comment.  The day has finally come when my immensely useless learning (see “About the author” in the menu for details) can be put to task.
With all respect for the Pope and for the Catholics, Benedict XVI’s resignation Latin speech contains (2) errors.
Says the text, “Fratres carissimi Non solum propter tres canonizations ad hoc Concistorium vos convocavi, sed etiam  ut vobis decisionem magni momenti pro Ecclesiae vitae communicem….”
Translation, “Dear brothers, Not only for three canonizations I have convoked you to this Consistory, but also to communicate to you a decision of great moment for the life of the Church.”
Now then, an ablative, NOT a genitive is called for in “the life of the Church”. Continue reading

Posted in After Dinner Quotes, Amusing Shakespeare, Best Shakespeare Quotes, Elegant Shakespearean Quotes, Insults Shakespeare-style, Presentation Ideas, Shakespeare in Management, Shakespeare in Politics, Shakespeare Invocations, Shakespeare on Education, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Shakespeare and Original Ideas for St. Valentine

Verona's summer hath not such a flower“Verona’s summer hath not such a flower”

(Romeo and Juliet, act 1, sc. 3)

Comment.  According to Oscar Wilde, “Women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are and that is the difference between the sexes.” Be it as it may, the hyper-commercial festivities of St. Valentine need not deter you (us) from extracting a Shakespearean pointed but pleasant arrow from your scabbard of compliments. Continue reading

Posted in Amusing Shakespeare, Best Shakespeare Quotes, Compliments, Elegant Shakespearean Quotes, Romantic Shakespearean Quotes, Shakespeare on Flowers, Shakespeare on Sex & Gender Roles, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style, William Shakespeare Love Quotes | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare and Original Ideas for St. Valentine

Shakespeare on Love, Money and Valentine’s Day

't is deepest winter in Lord Timon's purse, That is, one may reach deep enough, and yet find little“’t is deepest winter in Lord Timon’s purse;
That is, one may reach deep enough, and yet
Find little”.

(Timon of Athens, act 3, sc. 4)

Comment.  Admitting straitsness of means does not imply necessarily a loss in your romantic credit rating. The key is to admit to the condition but elegantly. This applies especially in America where even the poor cannot or will not claim to be so. It was Steinbeck who explained why socialism has had such difficulties here. “Socialism never took root in America because the poor there see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
The situation is especially critical if you are poor and she is rich. Continue reading

Posted in After Dinner Quotes, Amusing Shakespeare, Best Shakespeare Quotes, Chances Quotes, Elegant Shakespearean Quotes, Philosophical, Psychological & Historical Considerations, Presentation Ideas, Romantic Shakespearean Quotes, Sayings about Life, Shakespeare on Sex & Gender Roles, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare on Love, Money and Valentine’s Day

Shakespeare and a Valiant Woman

Joan of Arc appearing in a Shakespearean play“… It is held,
That valour is the chiefest virtue
And most dignifies the haver.”

(Coriolanus, act 2, sc. 2)

Comment.  Malalai Joya, 34, a courageous Afghan woman, first gained international attention in 2003 when she spoke out publicly against the domination of warlords. As you may conclude from what follows, she is indeed dignified by her valor in speaking out and in having survived until now.
In 2007 she again spoke out against former warlords and war criminals in the Afghan parliament and was thereupon suspended from the parliament. Since then she has survived many assassination attempts. She travels in Afghanistan It is held, That valour is the chiefest virtue And most dignifies the haver. Shakespeare, Afghanistan, courageous womanwith armed guards and has worked tirelessly on behalf of Afghan women and to end the occupation of her country. She has received universal international recognition.
Her most recent book is “Raising My Voice.” Here are excerpts from an interview, where some (predictable but yet unexpected) information is discovered. The exclamation marks are mine as well as the bolded sections, to show how incredibly false is the information distributed by the corporate media.

Interviewer.   Last month in Paris representatives of the Taliban for the first time Continue reading

Posted in Best Shakespeare Quotes, Elegant Shakespearean Quotes, Encouraging Quotes, Motivational Sayings, Philosophical, Psychological & Historical Considerations, Presentation Ideas, Sayings about Life, Shakespeare in Politics, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare and a Valiant Woman

Shakespeare and Ed Koch

the tears live in an onion that should water this sorrow“…the tears live in an onion that should water this sorrow.”

(Antony and Cleopatra, act 1, sc. 2)

 

Comment.  I am referring to the political persona, not to the human being. The death of Ed Koch, three times mayor of New York has brought in the usual flood of tributes from the establishment and the representatives of the 1%.
As equally usual, Koch has been called a “historic” figure, Continue reading

Posted in After Dinner Quotes, Answers to Interviews, Best Shakespeare Quotes, Chances Quotes, Elegant Shakespearean Quotes, Insults Shakespeare-style, Philosophical, Psychological & Historical Considerations, Presentation Ideas, Sayings about Life, Shakespeare on Mass Psychology and Group Behavior, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare and Ed Koch

Shakespeare on Murder as a Game

as if the tragedy Were play'd in jest by counterfeiting actors“… And look upon, as if the tragedy
Were play’d in jest by counterfeiting actors”

(King Henry VI, part 3, act 2, sc. 3)

Comment.  As they say and as the picture shows, the wheel has come full circle – killing virtual people with a video game has turned into killing real people with a video game.
drone victimsDrone strike operators are killing hundreds of children in Pakistan, Yemen, and other middle-eastern nations. On average they are killing 50 non intended targets (civilians) per 1 intended target (terrorist). Even discounting the stupidest idea that he who tries to get foreigners out of his own land – foreigners armed with unthinkable weapons, safe and secure in their video-game armchair – is a “terrorist”.
It is easy  to press a button from 8,000 miles away shooting a deadly missile into a village that kills hundreds of people. Someone said that the desensitization of our (US) youth Continue reading

Posted in Best Shakespeare Quotes, Fighting your Adversary, Insults Shakespeare-style, Philosophical, Psychological & Historical Considerations, Presentation Ideas, Shakespeare in Politics, Shakespeare Invocations, Shakespeare on Mass Psychology and Group Behavior, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Shakespeare and Eliminating the High Cost of Education

solving the problem of high cost of educatiuon“Study is like the heaven’s glorious sun
That will not be deep-search’d with saucy looks…
Small have continual plodders ever won
Save base authority from others’ books”

(Love Labour’s Lost, act 1, sc. 1)

Comment. Biron’s ambivalence about the value of education may be kept in mind by those young men (and especially ladies), eager to enter universities, those prestigious business houses dealing in merchantable knowledge, placed under the governing hand of sundry captains of erudition. For one thing, as widely predicated, a university education does not guarantee wealth while it ensures debt. Continue reading

Posted in After Dinner Quotes, Amusing Shakespeare, Best Shakespeare Quotes, Elegant Shakespearean Quotes, Philosophical, Psychological & Historical Considerations, Presentation Ideas, Shakespeare on Education, Shakespeare on Mass Psychology and Group Behavior, Shakespeare on Sex & Gender Roles, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare and Eliminating the High Cost of Education

Shakespeare, Italian Cities and the Mystery of Things

and take upon us the mystery of things as if we were God's spies… And take upon’s the mystery of things

(King Lear, act 5, sc. 3)

It is good to be home in Portland, after a fast trip with three presentations in Genoa, Turin and Milan – presentations of my book, (title translated), “Our Daily Dante – 3500 ways to get away with it with Dante”. This is also a choral thank you to all who contributed to make the tour (if thus it can be called) successful, including the personalities who made the introductions, respectively at the Berio Library in Genova, the Villa Amoretti Library in Turin, and the Oberdan Conference Center in Milan.
The following thoughts are not particularly related to the quotation from which these notes take the inspiration, or, more familiarly the clue.
Genoa has kept its wonderful medieval section and Continue reading

Posted in Answers to Interviews, Best Shakespeare Quotes, Business Presentations, Motivational Sayings, Philosophical, Psychological & Historical Considerations, Presentation Ideas, Shakespeare in Management, Shakespeare on Mass Psychology and Group Behavior, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style, Typical Interview Questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare, Italian Cities and the Mystery of Things

Shakespeare, Dante and the Italian Plays and a quote on absence

Many of Shakespeare's plays take place in Italy. Today's blog lists themThis website webmaster will be absent for a few days in Italy, where he will give presentations on his book “Il Nostro Dante Quotidiano – 3500 modi di cavarsela con Dante”. Translation, “Our Daily Dante – 3500 ways to get away with it with Dante”. The book was published by the Tuscan Region and the presentations will be in Genoa, Turin and Milan.
But could I leave without an appropriate quote?
“…I hope,
My absence doth neglect no great designs,
Which by my presence might have been concluded.”
(King Richard III, act 3, sc. 4)

“Our Daily Dante” is the counterpart of  “Your Daily Shakespeare – an Arsenal of Verbal Weapons to Drive your Friends into Action and your Enemies into Despair” By the way, you can get the Shakespeare book via Amazon or via the webmaster by contacting him through this website.
And this is NOT an advertisement, “To things of sale a seller’s praise belongs” (Love’s Labours Lost, act 4, sc. 3). Just that the book has proven very useful to scores of user/readers/students for the reasons explained Continue reading

Posted in After Dinner Quotes, Answers to Interviews, Elegant Shakespearean Quotes, Shakespeare in Management, Social Exchanges Shakespeare style, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Shakespeare, Dante and the Italian Plays and a quote on absence