Category Archives: Literature

SCOTT FITZGERALD’S MISSING SECOND ACT IN AMERICAN LIVES.

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Philip

SCOTT FITZGERALD’S MISSING SECOND ACT IN AMERICAN LIVES. Rhoda Koenig in a letter to the London Review of Books (August 2, 2018) points out that “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s aphorism ‘There are no second acts in American lives’” does not refer … Continue reading →

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TOLKIEN—A TRILOGY BASED ON MAPS.

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Philip

TOLKIEN—A TRILOGY BASED ON MAPS. Michael Fitzgerald had a review in the Wall Street Journal (July 31, 2018) of an exhibit at Oxford’s Bodleian Library of maps and drawings that Tolkien used in writing the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. … Continue reading →

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REASONS FOR CHANGING THE ENDINGS OF MEASURE FOR MEASURE AND HAMLET.

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Philip

REASONS FOR CHANGING THE ENDINGS OF MEASURE FOR MEASURE AND HAMLET. I usually take the traditionalist view of productions of Shakespeare. However, I can understand the point of the changes in the endings of Measure for Measure and Hamlet. As … Continue reading →

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DIRECTORS CHANGING THE ENDINGS OF SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS.

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Philip

DIRECTORS CHANGING THE ENDINGS OF SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS. I have sometimes heard it said, especially by directors, that a director and the actors should strike out all the stage directions in a script, that the the playwright’s writ stops at the … Continue reading →

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ENDING HAMLET BY SHOOTING HORATIO.

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Philip

ENDING HAMLET BY SHOOTING HORATIO. James Shapiro in The New York Review (April 19, 2018) recalled watching a production of Hamlet in the 1980’s in which Fortinbras, “as he recited the play’s final line—‘Go, bid the soldiers shoot’—unholstered a pistol, … Continue reading →

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JAMES JOYCE COMES TO MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Philip

JAMES JOYCE COMES TO MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. Below is a comment, based on the last paragraph of “The Dead”, which Nick and Collin Whitchurch wrote about the pitcher Mike Pelfrey, who is coming to the end of his long and … Continue reading →

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DICK AND JANE AND CERBERUS AND PUFF.

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Philip

DICK AND JANE AND CERBERUS AND PUFF. Recently, Mary Jane’s short play “Spring Cleaning in Hell” was performed at the Theatre Artists Workshop. Hades and Persephone were characters, and Cerberus (Hades’s three headed dog) was referred to several times. Our … Continue reading →

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“THE WALK BY SWANN’S HOUSE”.

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Philip

“THE WALK BY SWANN’S HOUSE”. I have resolved to pare down the number of articles and other papers that I have saved through the years. One recent find is from the TLS for December 5, 2014—a letter from the translator … Continue reading →

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AN INSTANCE WHERE FICTION HAS REPLACED HISTORY.

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Philip

AN INSTANCE WHERE FICTION HAS REPLACED HISTORY. Richard Power Sayeed had a review in the TLS (January 19) of Series Two of “The Crown”, which is about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Sayeed begins with an important argument on … Continue reading →

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PADDINGTON 2.

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Philip

PADDINGTON 2. The movie with the perfect score from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes is Paddington 2. Here is an article about the perfect score by Ben Hoyle in the Sunday Times of London. Of course, it’s something of a … Continue reading →

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