"Beware the ides of March"

In Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," a soothsayer (Boyce's "Shakespeare A-Z" gives an understandable article on SOOTHSAYER) warns Ceasar, "Beware the ides of March (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 20,25). The ides of March is March 15. Something ominous is on the horizon, to be fulfilled on the ides of March. Caesar dismisses the soothsayer calling him a "dreamer" (a nut, short a few french fries from his happy meal :). The ides of March came to fruition, and in Act 3, Scene 1, he is assassinated by conspirators, including both Cassius (the manipulator) and Brutus (an honorable Roman, doing what he thinks is the right thing to do for Rome, but quite conflicted with his actions). Besides it being the ides of March, another Roman holiday was in full swing. It was the annual festival of Lupercal, honoring the Roman god Lupercus (called Pan in Greek mythology). I find this fascinating. I hope you're hanging on tight because this ride is just getting started. JKH

Shakespeare - Really?

Yes, Shakespeare, the Bard himself. I don't know about you, but I have always had a love-hate relationship with his plays and poetry. I think it began when, in the second season of Shakepeare In the Park (Wichita, KS. circa 1982) I appeared in an adaptation of "The Taming of the Shrew." My fascination with Shakespeare's plays have always existed within my soul. Those latent sentiments, however, have recently found new life. Two recents discoveries that I've found most needful are (1) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and (2) Shakespeare on the Double. You can find an fordable Complete Works at alibris.com/ while the later can be found on CliffNotes.com/. Like the "No Fear Shakespeare" series, along side the original text is a modern English rendering. These diamonds in the ruff have proven extremely valuable, worth their weight in gold. In future blogs, I hope to present pratical observations as well as interpretations (serious and silly) and/or summaries and useful commentary. Another steal online is Harold Bloom's "Shakespeare - The Invention of the Human." This resource offer penetrating analysis of all of Shakespeare's plays. All of them! "Shakespeare A-Z" by Charles Boyce provides clear outlines (and commentary) for each Act and each Scene. JKH