A Year of Shakespeare

I’ve been asked whether the blog is worthwhile if nobody reads it, which is like asking a tree whether it makes noise when it falls in an empty forest. Spending a year with Shakespeare is reward enough for anybody, even if that means alone on a desert isle.

But I’m human, all too human, and so it’s nice to receive notice of a new comment or follower from time to time.

Literature is really one great conversation, as I was reminded today by the echoes of Sophocles and Homer that can be found within Othello.

I googled “Oedipus” and “Othello” just to be sure I wasn’t crazy…only to discover that this is a common test question in school. These epiphanies might happen a lot over the course of the year. Don’t be surprised if I “discover” points that turn out patently obvious to everyone else.

Many have climbed Mount Everest. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: the point is to make the journey for yourself.
The theme of the blog bears repeating: what happens when you tear down the scaffolding surrounding Shakespeare and read the works from scratch?

It’s actually kind of exiting to make a Sophocles connection, even if I’m late to the party. It shows that an amateur like me can stumble upon a meaningful discovery now and then.

So thanks for stopping by, wherever you happen to be. Shakespeare is universal – we already know this. Yet it delights me no end when someone from France or New Zealand or Trinidad and Tobago pops in.

We are all one big human family joined by a heartfelt love of humanity’s greatest poet. And I welcome you, one and all!

This entry was posted on 2014/01/06 at 12:26 pm and is filed under Asides with tags Gratitude. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.