Amanda's Shakespeare Blog May 2004 Archive

Shakespeare crafted some of the most unforgettable passages in Western literature, but how well do we really know the exact lines? Test your knowledge inside by filling in the missing ... Read More

Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you From seasons such as these?"King ... Read More

Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights; Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. ... Read More

Brutus, Cassius, Caesar, and Puck? Take our quiz and identify the character who doesn't belong. Good luck!

In the shadow of Shakespeare’s second tetralogy of history plays lies the neglected masterpiece, "King John." The play is cursed with the egregious reputation of being Shakespeare’s great artistic failure. ... Read More

For it so falls out That what we have we prize not to the worth Whiles we enjoy it, but being lack'd and lost, Why, then we rack the value, then we find The ... Read More

A selection of Shakespearean quotations on wives, husbands, and holy matrimony.

Hailed as a stunning climax to the career of England’s favorite dramatist, "The Tempest" is a play praising the glories of reconciliation and forgiveness. Some believe that Prospero’s final speeches ... Read More

This magnificent, unparalleled production of every Shakespeare play is now available for purchase, exclusively through Ambrose Video Publishing. Here is a link to their catalogue.

They say all lovers swear more performance than they are able, and yet reserve an ability that they never perform; vowing more than the perfection of ... Read More

The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before ... Read More

An analysis of Shakespeare's inspired sonnet, hailed as one of the best poems in English. Included is a paraphrase of the poem in contemporary English.

The First Quarto of "Hamlet" was published in 1603 by London booksellers Nicholas Ling and John Trundell. Four more quarto versions followed, and the play was also included in the ... Read More

This line from Macbeth's final soliloquy has caused much debate. Four possible meanings are (1) she should have died after the battle when there would be time to mourn properly; ... Read More

I have heard you say That we shall see and know our friends in heaven. If that be true, I shall see my boy again; For since the birth of ... Read More

After the death of Elizabeth I, James the VI of Scotland became the new monarch, known in England as King James I. James, like Elizabeth, loved the arts, particularly the ... Read More

We are but warriors for the working-day; Our gayness and our guilt are all besmirched With rainy marching in the painful field. "Henry V" (4.3.109-111) More of Shakespeare's thoughts on soldiers...