Comments on: SHAKESPEARE WAS A BLACK SWAN (COMMENT).

By: CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY–WE ARE ALL BLACK SWANS. | Pater Familias

CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY–WE ARE ALL BLACK SWANS. | Pater Familias — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:37:37 +0000

[...] we think (of course, there may also be happy surprises as well–writers like Shakespeare, as I posted in September 2007). Taleb concludes the book with a consoling thought. “Imagine a speck of [...]

By: PICKING UP NICKELS IN FRONT OF A STEAMROLLER. | Pater Familias

PICKING UP NICKELS IN FRONT OF A STEAMROLLER. | Pater Familias — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:00:48 +0000

[...] FRONT OF A STEAMROLLER. Looking back (using the search feature for the blog), I see that my first post of many on Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book THE BLACK SWAN The Impact of the Highly Improbable, [...]

By: PREDICTING BLACK SWANS AT THE BEGINNING OF 2008. | Pater Familias

PREDICTING BLACK SWANS AT THE BEGINNING OF 2008. | Pater Familias — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:44:25 +0000

[...] on Nassim Taleb’s concept of black swans in September 2007 (Shakespeare was the subject of the post). The “Buttonwood” feature in the Economist for December 22, 2007 wrote about black swans and [...]

By: Philip

Philip — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:21:47 +0000

I agree with Catherine that Shakespeare represents a peak that humanity can aspire to because it was reached once. In thinking about Catherine’s comment, I said to Mary Jane that we are very lucky that our two greatest writers in English, Chaucer and Shakespeare, were also outstanding in their tolerance for human frailties. Mary Jane responded that Shakespeare and Chaucer were not merely tolerant of human frailties. They cherished them.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:40:17 +0000

Last week in my feminist literary theory class we were discussing why Virginia Woolf used Shakespeare as the yardstick of literary achievement. I thought, if not Shakespeare, who? I can’t think of another playwright (or even perhaps another writer) for me that hit so many out of the park consistently.

Mr. Schaefer, I’ve heard you say that when you go to see a Shakespeare play you know you’re in for a good time and I must say I agree (making exceptions for particularly bad stagings, of course).

Looking up Woolf quotes regarding Shakespeare I found (and agree with) this:

Fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners. Often the attachment is scarcely perceptible; Shakespeare’s plays, for instance, seem to hang there complete by themselves. But when the web is pulled askew, hooked up at the edge, torn in the middle, one remembers that these webs are not spun in midair by incorporeal creatures, but are the work of suffering human beings, and are attached to the grossly material things, like health and money and the houses we live in.

By: Annalisa

Annalisa — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:14:20 +0000

I agree with Catherine’s words. At this point, Shakespeare represents something sacred and beautiful, made only more potent by the many attempts to explain away his genius. He is not just his work now; he is also a symbol of achievement, individuality, innovation, and so much more. And despite my penchant for asking “why?” and getting answered, in some ways I find nature’s mysteries all the more awe inspiring when there isn’t any explanation at all.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:25:24 +0000

I have to wonder about man’s need to explain away the incredible and unlikely. If we gave up on achieving or hoping for the improbable, where would humanity be? I suppose no one will truly know for certain about the works of Shakespeare, but I think it is important to believe in them in order to inspire ourselves to higher levels and maintain hope that humanity is capable of truly great things.