Yesterday we went to the Christmas Market at Stratford-on-Avon. A very interesting town, with many beautiful old houses, including one that belonged to Shakespeare's father John and is very likely to have been the playwright's birthplace. As we were leaving just at sunset the lights were coming on and the scene was almost magical.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I’ve read it before but not for many years, and I once saw it performed live.
Now rereading it, I see what an extraordinary and unique piece of work it is. Whatever could have put this into Shakespeare’s mind? And humour is not often durable, but the rustic players in Act 3, Scene 1 made me laugh aloud; it’s still very funny after 500 years.
What a marvellous beginning this sonnet has:
A stunning map of different names for "cheese" across the regions of Europe. There are some interesting geographical patterns, but a few suprises too. Cheese is from Latin caesus = cheese but in Rome nowadays cheese is fromaggio, but notice Sardinia is more conservative. Good to see Manx and Friesian are recognised.
Credit: https://i.imgur.com/v8rfMC4.png
One of the verse forms I most admire is the sonnet, and another is the haiku. There are many differences but both display a classic structure and an economy of expression.
A favorite sonnet of mine is Shakespeare 73.
This blog might contain posts that are only visible to logged-in users, or where only logged-in users can comment. If you have an account on the system, please log in for full access.
