Tag Archives: Shakespeare

Share with Me a Woman’s Voice on Shakespeare, with Thoughts on The Merchant of Venice

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Yes, I know, it is kind of a strange request: Share with Me a Woman’s Voice on Shakespeare. Moreover, it is one that I cannot necessarily follow up on fully. But let me explain. The other day, I finished up … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, feminism, Goethe, Hamlet, Harry Potter, Helena Kelly, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, Joanna Russ, Octavia Butler, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Shakespeare, Stephen King, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest | 16 Comments

Can Cod-liver Oil Cure Us of Poetry? A Thought on the Uselessness of Poets in Today’s Economy from L.M. Montgomery’s Rainbow Valley

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

It was probably unfair that I had this much fun in a government meeting, but it is even more unfair that the fun came at another’s expense. It is no secret that North American state, provincial, and federal governments view … Continue reading →

Posted in L.M. Montgomery, Memorable Quotes, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged academics, economics, fantasy literature, L.M. Montgomery, Milton, Poetry, Prince Edward Island, Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside, Ronald Reagan, Shakespeare, speculative fiction, University, utilitarianism | 13 Comments

Harold Bloom and “The Western Canon”: A Note on His Death

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

I received news this week that Harold Bloom has died. Bloom (1930-2019) was an avid reader, a rapid writer, and a penetrating critic whose essays and books on literature are breathtaking in scope and exemplary in their attention to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Charles Dickens, Charles Williams, Dante, fantasy, feminism, Harold Bloom, J.R.R. Tolkien, Leo Tolstoy, literary criticism, literary history, Milton, mimesis, Reading, Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, The Western Canon, Ursula K. LeGuin | 21 Comments

Robert Browning’s “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” read by George Guidall

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

There are few short pieces in literature that have generated as many new stories as Robert Browning’s 1855 poem, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.” The story itself comes from an old folktale that inspired a moment in Shakespeare‘s King … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Memorable Quotes | Tagged A.S. Byatt, Alexander Theroux, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, George Guidall, Gordon R. Dickson, Harper Lee, John Connolly, King Lear, Neil Gaiman, P. G. Wodehouse, Robert Browning, Roger Zelazny, Shakespeare, Stephen King, The Dark Tower | 17 Comments

A Weekend of Reading to Change Your Literary Life

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

If you are like me, you have spent much of your adult life as a reader catching up on a severe lack of education. It is common that I am out with friends and when the topic of books comes … Continue reading →