Wednesdays With Will – Negative Praise and Will’s Tool Belt
In several sonnets Shakespeare uses negativity to render praise upon the subject of the poem. This clever technique heightens the effect of positive praise found in the ending couplet. An …
Wednesdays With Will – Four Notable Women
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Desdemona defies her father’s wishes by marrying Othello. In the course of the play, Othello is convinced by the treacherous Iago that Desdemona has been unfaithful to …
Wednesdays With Will – In Search of Anne Hathaway
There are advantages to having lived at the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. Specifically, the internet hadn’t been invented, and there were not a …
Wednesdays With Will – More Than a Couple of Words About the Couplets
Shakespeare wrote in what is now called the Shakespearean sonnet form and consists of three quatrains and a couplet. I particularly enjoy the couplets, as, through many of them Shakespeare’s …
Wednesdays with Will – A Few Words About the Sonnets Dedication Puzzle
Much has been written regarding the dedication of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and, although I cannot settle the issue, I can comment upon it. The sonnets were published in 1609 by Thomas …
Wednesdays With Will – What’s in a Glove?
In Act II, Scene II of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is hiding in the Capulet orchard when he sees Juliet, with whom he is hopelessly in love, appear in a …
Wednesdays With Will – In Sync With Ian Fleming
Question: What do Shakespeare and Ian Fleming have in common? Answer: In his book, You Only Live Twice, Fleming states: “You only live twice, once when you are born and …
Wednesdays With Will – The Sonnets
A great many questions have been asked about Shakespeare’s sonnets. Did he write them? Were he and the young man of the sonnets lovers? Were the sonnets meant to be …