Richard Nixon Tweet on Shakespeare and President Donald J. Trump

by Jack Brummet

"There is no Shakespeare that easily applies to Trump because Shakespeare thought in terms of moral complication and nuance."

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The Beatles celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth (April, 1964)

The Beatles celebrate Shakespeare's 400th birthday with a scene from A Midsummer Nights Dream, as part of a one-hour television special,  [Ed's Note; We could not find credits for the photographer]

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Was William Shakespeare high when he wrote his plays?

By Jack Brummet, Lit Ed.

From The Telegraph, August 9, 2015:

"South African scientists have discovered that 400-year-old tobacco pipes excavated from the garden of William Shakespeare contained cannabis, suggesting the playwright might have written some of his famous works while high.

"Residue from early 17th century clay pipes found in the playwright’s garden, and elsewhere in Stratford-Upon-Avon, were analysed in Pretoria using a sophisticated technique called gas chromatography mass spectrometry, the Independent reports.

"Of the 24 fragments of pipe loaned from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to University of the Witwatersrand, cannabis was found in eight samples, four of which came from Shakespeare's property."

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   .  .  .

"In Sonnet 76, Shakespeare writes about “invention in a noted weed", which could be interpreted to mean that Shakespeare was willing to use weed, or cannabis, while he was writing."

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Happy 448th birthday, William Shakespeare

By Jack Brummet, Poetry Ed.

Happy 448th birthday to William Shakespeare.  He was born, and died, on April 23.  In these 448 years, no one in any language has come close to what he accomplished.

Sonnet 73

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

                             ---o0o---