Category Archives: Philosophical, Psychological & Historical Considerations

Bertrand Russell complained about one of his grandmother’s preferred puns, “What is mind? Doesn’s matter. What is matter? Never mind.” And yet we, as a species, continuously attempt to fathom the mystery of the mind, with the help of philosophy, psychology and history. Shakespeare has given us much food for thought on all three, as well as music for those who love the music of words.

Shakespeare on Equivocation, Confusion and Meaning

Posted on September 9, 2012 by jimmie

“We must speak by the card or equivocation will undo us.” (Hamlet, act 5, sc. 1) Comments. Two historians separated in time by millennia said the same thing, A historian must describe things “as they happened” (wie es eigentlich gewesen), according to Ranke (author of the monumental History of the Popes). Much earlier on Herodotus Read More

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Shakespeare on the State of the Union

Posted on September 8, 2012 by jimmie

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Hamlet, act 1, sc. 4) Tips for Use.   Apply to place, company, state, nation or organization where you firmly believe that rot outweighs soundness. Not long ago, he who writes here was plying the waters of the Willamette River at the helm, or rather the paddles of Read More

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Shakespeare on Salad Days and Inexperience

Posted on September 5, 2012 by jimmie

“Those were my salad days, When I was green in judgement.” (Antony and Cleopatra, act 1, sc. 5) Tips for Use.   Unless you are really old you can often attribute your errors to inexperience and get away with it. Though for many the salad days extend far longer than when the days were salad. A Read More

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Pre-Orwell Shakespeare on Deceptive Words and Appearances

Posted on September 3, 2012 by jimmie

“Thus ornament is but the guiled shore To a most dangerous sea; the beauteous scarf Veiling an Indian beauty; in a word, The seeming truth which cunning times put on To entrap the wisest.” (Merchant of Venice act 3, sc. 2) Tips for Use. When you see the truth and others do not. Or rather, Read More

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Shakespeare on Talents and their Use

Posted on August 31, 2012 by jimmie

Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, Not light them for themselves, for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, ’twere all alike As if we had them not.” (Measure for Measure, act 1, sc.1) Tips for Use. Answer to a compliment where your unique and particular skills are praised – Read More

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Shakespeare on Procrastination and How to Avoid It

Posted on August 30, 2012 by jimmie

“… that we would do We should do when we would; for this ‘would’ changes And hath abatements and delays as many As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents; And then this ‘should’ is like a spendthrift sigh, That hurts by easing.” (Hamlet act 4, sc. 7) Tips for Use.  Stimulate prompt action after Read More

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Shakespeare on Common Sense and its Pitfalls

Posted on August 29, 2012 by jimmie

“And what impossibility would slay In common sense, sense saves another way.” (All’s Well That Ends Well, act 2, sc. 1) Tips for Use.  A way to justify your going along with an idea suggested by others, though you rate its success unlikely. The lines also illustrate the inherent paradox of common sense. If common Read More

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Shakespeare on Crowds, Masses and Group Psychology

Posted on August 28, 2012 by jimmie

“An habitation giddy and unsure Hath he, that buildeth on the vulgar heart.” (King Henry IV part 2, act 1, sc. 3) Tips for Use. Define questionable, unreliable and uncouth allies, or unstable masses. The idea of the unreliability of crowds is a frequent recurrent theme in Shakespeare’s plays. And it is one of the Read More

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Shakespeare on Silence and Happiness

Posted on August 27, 2012 by jimmie

BEATRICE. Speak, count, it is your cue. CLAUDIO. Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy, if I could say how much. (Much Ado About Nothing, act 2, sc. 1) Tips for Use. Excellent reply when you are not in the mood to talk and your silence is interpreted as moodiness, Read More

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Seven Ages of Man, take 6, Advanced Middle Age

Posted on August 26, 2012 by jimmie

“… The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side; His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide For his shrank shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again towards childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound…” (As You Like It, act 2, sc. Read More

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