Shakespeare on Authority and the Power of Lobbying

quote from Trolius and Cressida authority as a stubborn bear“… And though authority be a stubborn bear, yet he is oft led by the nose with gold.” (Winter’s Tale act 4, sc. 3)

Tips for Use.  Excellent comment to instances of corruption of anyone in authority. Or a very applicable metaphor for the relentless and inexorable lobbying of sundry politicians in exchange for campaign contributions.
Admittedly, this is the discovery of warm water, but we must  pretend to believe it is not so. The Shakespearean character who utters these lines had not, as yet, discovered the art of political correctness. Continue reading

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Shakespeare on Power

“Then every thing includes itself in power,
Power into will, will into appetite;
And appetite, an universal wolf,
So doubly seconded with will and power,
Must make perforce an universal prey,
And last eat up himself.”
(Troilus and Cressida, act 1, sc. 3)

Tips for Use.  Optimal way to concisely describe the structure of power. Especially when the structure is stripped of the usual sanctimonious and hypocritical expression of love for democracy or similar. Should these lines trigger the interest of some to discover (or re-discover) more on the subject, they may refer to Machiavelli’s “Prince”. Incidentally it is usually assumed… Continue reading

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Shakespeare on Fate or Divinity Shaping our Life

Michelangelo's God of the Sistine Chapel and one Best Shakespeare Quote“Our indiscretions sometimes serves us well,
When our dear plots do pall; and that should teach us
There’s a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will.”
(Hamlet act 5, sc. 2)

 Tips for Use.  Sometimes circumstances come to our aid without any intervention (as in this case with Hamlet). Sometimes, notwithstanding all efforts the outcome is not what we wanted. This is obvious as the truth of Mr. Lapalisse. In these instances poetry cannot change the course of things but, not unlike music, it coats reality and our perceptions with a warming and soothing virtual mantle.
Good lines usable in a presentation when tied to the subject of inevitability,… Continue reading

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Shakespeare, Man as Simple Dust and a Targeted Insult

a still converting dust into man verifying shakespeare's assertionAnd yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me, no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so” (Hamlet act 2, sc. 2)

Tips for Use. Hamlet may have been the quintessential pessimist. But the goriness of the recent news reaches such peaks at times as to prompt at least sympathy, if not agreement, with Hamlet’s topic opinion. Among gory news, the video available on line showing the police in Fullerton CA, murdering the homeless Kelly Thomas. Thomas keeps crying “Dad, they are killing me” in his last gasps. An almost identical incident occurred in Portland Oregon in 2009… Continue reading

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Shakespeare on Scheduling the Next Corporate Meeting

Shekspeare quote for scheduling the next meeting“When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning or in rain?”
(Macbeth act 1, sc.1)

Tips for Use. Especially handy when the corporate meeting has been protracted endlessly, maybe even through the night. No decision has been reached and the meeting has been rescheduled. Change the number ‘3’ to the actual number of persons who may attend the next meeting. Your quotation may perhaps revive the depressed or sagged spirit of the audience. And talking about depressed spirit, Ambrose Bierce’s … Continue reading

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Shakespeare on One of Love’s Persistent Questions. Take 2

A love that makes breath poor and speech unable “…I love you more than words can wield the matter …
A love that makes breath poor and speech unable,
Beyond all manner of so much I love you.”
(King Lear act 1, sc. 1)

Tips for Use.  Yesterday’s blog on “neither rhyme nor reason” proved particularly popular, judging by the number of visits. Today we will then follow up with another Shakespearean answer to the fatidical question “Do you love me?” and/or “How much do you love me?” Nor is the range of Shakespearean options on this issue exhausted with yesterday’s and today’s entries. In the book “Your Daily Shakespeare” there are hundreds of related answers. In the instance, the declarer (Ms. Goneril)… Continue reading

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Shakespeare on One of Love’s Persistent Questions

answer to question, how much do you love meROSALIND.  But are you so much in love as your rhymes speak?
ORLANDO. Neither rhyme nor reason can express so much
. (As You Like It act 3, sc. 2)

Tips for Use. “Neither rhyme nor reason…”, one of the many turns of phrase that have filtered down in every day’s English language. In the instance, one of the many answers Shakespeare offers to the eternal (actually one of the eternal) questions in matters of the heart, namely “How much do you love me?”, “Neither rhyme nor reason can express how much.”… Continue reading

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Shakespeare and the Inevitable Passing of Time

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.”
(SON 60)

Tips for Use. What may come to mind when you are at the seashore. It helps if the beaches are not packed chock-a-block with piles of human flesh being roasted to perfection with the help of cheap or expensive ointments. Though love is the main theme of the sonnets, the others are the brevity of life (as here in Sonnet 60) and the double-edges allurements of desire…. Continue reading

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Shakespeare on Banking

Neither a borrower nor a lender be “Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”
(Hamlet act 1, sc. 3)

Tips for Use. Today Polonius would probably modify his exhortations. Rather than not borrowing or lending he would advise his son Laertes not to deal with Credit Swaps or Collateralized Debt Obligations. It is hot news today that one of the usual banking giants, J.P. Morgan, has lost the usual billions in some ‘risky trading’. The suggested change in the text … Continue reading

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Shakespeare. A Good Reply when You Don’t Know What to Say

winding the watch of wit“Look, he’s winding up the watch of his wit; By and by it will strike.” (Tempest act 2, sc.1)

Tips for Use.  How often we know what to answer to an ironic remark or a joke and yet the answer lays hidden in the mind preventing immediate delivery.  Or who has not been in a situation when he is prompted by the exhortation, “Say something”.  This is the time to reply, ‘I am winding up the watch of my wit, by and by it will strike’. Or a comment when you see someone else doing the same, “He is winding up…strike”.  Equally applicable during a presentation when you do not have an immediate answer to a question from the audience. Even during a job interview. If the interviewer Continue reading

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