Great piece on how Eminem and Shakespeare are so similar. Its definitely possible to be big fans of both - just like me!
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Shakespeare Love Quotes – Top 10 Shakespeare Love Quotes
As our list of top 10 Shakespeare love quotes reveals, Shakespeare remains the world’s most romantic poet and dramatist. He is responsible for Romeo and Juliet and Sonnet 18, the greatest love story and poetry ever written. Discover the top 10 Shakespeare love quotes here.
Top 10 Shakespeare Love Quotes
- Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
(A Midsummer Night's Dream)
- Is love a tender thing? it is too rough,
Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.
(Romeo and Juliet)
- If music be the food of love, play on.
(Twelfth Night)
- Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
(Sonnet 18)
- Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.
(Twelfth Night)
- Hear my soul speak:
The very instant that I saw you, did
My heart fly to your service.
(The Tempest)
- I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.
(Much Ado About Nothing)
- One half of me is yours, the other half yours,
Mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours,
And so all yours.
(The Merchant of Venice)
- Love is a smoke and is made with the fume of sighs.
(Romeo and Juliet)
- Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?
(As You Like It)
What do you think? I think I can pick out better ones
Check them out at shakespeare love poems
want to search for tweets on a particular topic? - Loudtweets
via loudtwitter.com
I found this site called http://www.Loudtwitter.com, you can search for tweets on any phrase
kinda useful!
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
My own article on Shakespeare love quotes
I wrote this!
Check it out for some of the best and most famous Shakespeare love quotes
Friday, 19 August 2011
Word of the Day: Magic
Somewhat surprisingly, there are only thirteen uses of the word “magic”, across eight of Shakespeare’s plays. Further, each appearance of the word is as often the cue for a reflection on dramaturgy as it is for a use of thaumaturgy. Prospero, for example, although a practitioner of “rough magic”, nevertheless needs his “magic robes” to do so, and thus on-stage magic becomes as much about the costume as the effects. Perhaps more striking than this, there is the ending of The Winter’s Tale, when Leontes is brought to see a statue of his wife, whom he believes dead but who is in fact – in a set-piece of virtuoso acting – pretending to be the very statue that he admires. When Leontes touches her, and remarks “O she’s warm”, he praises theatrical artistry as much as fantastical events:
If this be magic, let it be an art
Lawful as eating.The lawfulness of magic is evoked elsewhere in Shakespeare. Othello picks up the negative connotations of the word when he, ironically, tells the Venetian senate of the “magic” that, according to them, he must have used in order to woo Desdemona. Such ironic reference to magic comes back later in the play, when the moor imagines the magical creation of the handkerchief he gave to Desdemona, whose presence in Camillo’s chamber forces Othello over the edge.
OTHELLO Tis ture: there’s magic in the web of it:
A sibyl, that had number’d in the world
The sun to course two hundred compasses,
In her prophetic fury sew’d the work;
The worms were hallow’d that did breed the silk;
And it was dy’d in mummy which the skillful
Conserv’d of maiden’s hearts.The magic of the handkerchief is ultimately manifested in the way in which it inflames Othello’s jealousy. Something similar occurs in Hamlet, where the “magic” poison of the play-within-a-play (again overlapping theatre and sorcery) provokes the very real anger of Claudius whom it directly accuses.
In that accusation, Claudius is himself made out as the user of the “magic” poison that kills Old Hamlet, and this is but one of several examples of evil or so-called ‘black’ magic in Shakespeare’s work. Exeter, at the funeral of Henry V with which Henry VI part I opens, imagines the black magic of the French which could have “contriv’d” the end of the king; whilst in Macbeth, the evil coven of witches represents perhaps the most prominent black magic users of Shakespeare’s canon. It is after all, Hecate, the queen of the witches, who in an oft-cut speech promises:
HECATE [...] There hangs a vaporous drop profound;
I’ll catch it ere it come to ground:
And that, distill’d by magic sleights,
Shall raise such artificial sprites,
As, by strength of their illusion,
Shall draw [Macbeth] to his confusion:
He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear:
And you all know, security
Is mortals’ chiefest enemy.
Its surprising how Shakespeare only uses the word magic 13 times in all of his works! Still, there's enough magic in his work already
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Monday, 15 August 2011
Sunday, 14 August 2011
New post by me! Shakespeare plays list
I've made a list of Shakespeare's plays in timeline, on my blog, check it out at http://t.co/2M79YWW
How To Write Better Tweets
How To Write Better Tweets
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As silly as it sounds, there’s an art to Twitter. Combining a call to action with useful information all inside 140 characters is something that takes practice. The same way journalists had to learn to use the new medium of blogging, tweeting is a new skill that must be mastered. It’s more personal, it’s more succinct and it’s real-time. But just because the information passes more quickly and in fewer characters doesn’t mean it’s less important. In fact, incorrectly tweeting can be a recipe for total brand disaster and each word counts.
Below are some tips on how to write better tweets to help reach your audience and also to keep your foot out of your mouth.
Think before you tweet: Before you tweet that link, publish that twitter comment or get into that heated debate, ask yourself if what you’re about to put out there is meaningful. Is it something that adds value to your community and to the conversation? If the answer is ‘well, no’, consider not saying it. Because tweeting requires such little effort, users are forced to sift through a heck of a lot of noise in order to find a tidbit or two of signal. When possible, try not to add to the clutter. Save your tweets for when you have something worth sharing. You audience will come to appreciate it.
Own your account: If you’re tweeting on behalf of a company, make sure you disclose that both in your tweets and in your profile. If you try to hide it, it will be found out. If you’re a marketing assistant for Dell tweeting about how much you love Dell computersand then someone puts together that you actually work for Dell, that’s going to be an online reputation management nightmare. Most Twitter users understand that people have agendas and motives for what they’re putting out, and they’re okay with that – as long as it’s disclosed. Trying to hide who you work for is a bad idea. Your true identity will always be revealed. Just own it.
Learn to tease: Much of good Twittering is tied to the ability to write great engaging headlines and get people wanting more. With 140 characters there’s only room for the set up. All you can do is learn to write better and master the types of headlines to learn how to get more from fewer characters.
Watch your grammar: Just because Twitter is only 140 characters doesn’t mean that spelling, grammar, and clarity don’t matter. In fact, they matter more because you’re trying to communicate in such a compact space. Before you publish a tweet to the world take some time to read it over and make sure it makes sense. You don’t need to perfect, you just have to not distract people with messy grammar and spellings.
Be personal: Don’t be afraid to throw in the occasional splice-of-life tweets. The ones that say you’re hanging out with your kids, what you’re making for dinner or the concert you’re about to check out. Yeah, you’re using Twitter as a business tool but these casual tweets help break down that wall between owner and client and offer the stuff that everyone can relate to. It shows your customers that you’re ‘just like them’. Sometimes that’s all we’re looking for. People prefer to do business with other people. If you’ve ever checked out my Twitter account (if you have, I really do apologize), I throw in quite a bit of personal material.
but not too personal: While getting a little personal is good, do remember that people are reading your tweets and perhaps using them to decide if they want to do business with you. Leave the swear words for the bar and don’t tweet about anything you wouldn’t tell your mother. It’s just safer that way.
Use appropriate hashtags (or make up your own): Hashtags are probably my favorite part of Twitter. They allow you to be part of focused conversations, to track events, and really, just to show your silly side. If you’re participating in a tweetup, make sure you use the appropriate hashtag to go with it so that people can follow. If you’re at a conference, find out what official tag they’re using and tack it to the end of your tweets to show you’re part of that group. Personally, I like making up my own hashtags, however, I think Twitter technically classifies that as “spam” so I can’t officially recommend it. That said, it’s fun and I have no plan to stop doing it.
Leave room for retweets: There is nothing that validates you as a good tweet writer more than being retweeted by your followers; however, if you make your tweets too long you actually lower the chances of people retweeting you. Since Twitter only allows tweets of 140 characters that means your tweet needs to be short enough to still allow [RT @username] to be added to the front of it. Even then, the shorter the better as RTers often like to add their own commentary to the end of it. Yes, Twitter’s new RT feature allows you the option to retweet even the longest tweets but, a lot people don’t like it.
Check your links: This is huge. If you’re using Twitter as a way to direct people to your blog, your Web site or information about you, make sure the link you’re including works. Often because people are using URL shorteners like bit.ly or tinyurl, they’ll often grab the wrong link or forget to copy part of it, causing the link to 404 when someone tries to click on it. Make sure you double check all your links so that users are being sent to the right place.
Edit your tweets: Before you hit publish, read that tweet over just one more time to catch any obvious flubs or grammar mistakes. It just takes a second and ensures you’re sending out a professional-sounding message. Your followers will correct you if you mess up. Not that I know this from extended personal experience.
Those are my rules for writing better tweets. Any I missed?
Everyone should read this, we could all write better tweets
Saturday, 13 August 2011
A Shakespeare search engine!
I never thought it would be possible, amazing. My life is complete. Now I don't need google any more
Shakespeare for Kids : Autistic kids taking Shakespeare to the Next Level and...
Shakespeare love poems has sent you a link to a blog: This is an incredible story of a woman who dedicates herself to helping kids Blog: Shakespeare for Kids
Post: Autistic kids taking Shakespeare to the Next Level and the Woman that got them there
Link: http://shakespeareforkids.blogspot.com/2011/05/autistic-kids-taking-shakespea...
Post: Autistic kids taking Shakespeare to the Next Level and the Woman that got them there
Link: http://shakespeareforkids.blogspot.com/2011/05/autistic-kids-taking-shakespea...
Shakespeare for Kids: Autistic kids taking Shakespeare to the Next Level and the Woman that got them there
An inspiring story about a woman who dedicates herself to kids with special needs
Friday, 12 August 2011
Shakespeare on street names!
I think its really funny how Shakespeare is so influential he appears on street names. Brilliant 
In this Washington town, Hamlet Street intersects with Macbeth, and also with Desdemona.
via NYT > William Shakespeare by By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE on 8/9/11
In this Washington town, Hamlet Street intersects with Macbeth, and also with Desdemona.Tuesday, 9 August 2011
A great summary of Shakespeare's love poem, A Lover's Complaint.
Acknowledgement: This work has been summarized using The Complete Works of Shakespeare Updated Fourth Ed., Longman Addison-Wesley, ed. David Bevington, 1997. Quotations are for the most part taken from that work, as are paraphrases of his commentary.
Overall Impression: This poem was pleasant enough.
Per Bevington: This poem was published, along with his sonnets, without WS's permission. It takes the form of the Elizabethan poetic genre, the "complaint", in which typically there is a pastoral setting, rustic shepherds and shepherdesses, plaintive laments of deserted or unrequited lovers, etc. These complaints often bewailed moralistically the hazards of blind passion and might have been used didactically. This poem presents multiple points of view: the poet-narrator, the spurned maiden, the old shepherd, and the male wooer. It portrays in rich metaphorical language the tense and bitter struggle between the sexes also seen in the "Dark Lady" sonnets.
Line 1: The poet begins his tale of overhearing the distraught maid as she tears up letters, breaks rings, etc. She is still somewhat young in looks, despite her great distress. Her hair is partially disordered. 36 She throws love tokens, letters (some penned in blood), and rings drawn from her basket into the river. She cries out in tears about the falseness of her wooer. 57 An old shepherd, once himself a swaggerer and man about town, overhears her and descends the river bank to offer her a sympathetic ear and consolation.
Line 71: She tells him her story. She is still young despite her appearance. She listened to the wooer's suit too early in her life. His curly brown hair gave him an appearance as in Paradise. He had only an early growth of beard and was beautiful in manner and form. He could ride a horse well. He was skilled in speech to make the weeper laugh and the laugher weep. He enchanted both sexes, and women gave themselves to him even when he did not seek it. 135 Many became obsessed with his image and came to think of themselves as his mistress. But she kept her distance cautiously for a while, but eventually appetite overcame reason. 169 She knew him to be untrue and was aware of his past treacheries; she knew of the children he had sired in others. But he began to besiege her, arguing as follows:
Line 177: Have some pity on my suffering. I have been called to love before without inviting it. I made past errors of blood (mere physical acts), not of the mind or of love. No woman has kindled in me such heart warming passion. 197 He shows her the love tokens and treasures other women have given him: diamond, emerald, sapphire, opal, etc. He is willing to give all these to her as one sacrifices at an altar. Here is a love token given him by a woman who had become a nun. She had rare beauty but rejected the suits of the men in court, at least before she met him. It isn't difficult to give up something that has not yet been tried. 246 After he came before her eyes, she wanted to give up her vows for his love--she who had wanted to be cloistered to remove herself from temptation now wanted to be free to venture everything for love. 264 Love is so powerful that neither vows, bonds, nor confinement cannot stop it. 274 The many hearts that other women have extended to him feel his heart aching because of her resistance, and supplicate her to give in. They also help to prove the credibility and truthfulness of his pledge of love. He looks down tearfully.
Line 288: She stops quoting him and speaks her own thoughts. What witchcraft there is in a tear--even a rocky heart is worn down by a tear. His tears and crafty passion stole her reason and led to her loss of chastity. But afterwards his tears poisoned her, though hers had restored him. 302 He can assume whatever forms he wishes to accomplish his goals. No woman's heart can resist his determined assault. He disguised his lechery with talk of purity and chastity. 316 He concealed his inner fiendish self with an outer garment of grace. Who would not surrender to such a man? To receive again such pleasure as she experienced when she fell, she might fall again. 323 His infectious tears, his passionate cheeks, the forced thunder of his heart, his sad looks, all his affected passion could yet betray this penitent maid again.
via mcgoodwin.net
I really like how he's broken it down line by line and picked out the best parts of description
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Who's great?
Did you know Shakespeare wrote this? "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." Malvolio from William Shakespeare's twelfth night
Great quote
Great quote
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
"but thy eternal summer shall not fade"? - Yahoo! Answers
| Some great info on the famous shakespeare sonnet 18- Shall I compare thee to a summer's day. Great analysis and explains the main ideas |
From Evernote: |
"but thy eternal summer shall not fade"? - Yahoo! AnswersClipped from: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070125040639AAfGWum |
The youth and good looks of the young person that Shakespeare addresses in this sonnet are like a summer day. Except that summer days are sometimes too hot and sweaty or sometimes cloudy, and they don't last all that long. But the summer of his admired one, such youth and "fair" looks, are ideal and they won't fade because the poet has captured and preserved them in these lines. "Thy eternal summer shall not fade . . . / When in eternal lines to time thou growest." Some biographers say Shakespeare was writing these lines to a young seventeen-year-old man, perhaps an actor in his company or the son of one of his financial backers; some think he is writing a poem FOR this young man to present to his beloved. Some even suggest he is writing to a "dark lady" with whom both he and the young man are having an affair. Nobody knows for sure. We're fairly certain he was NOT writing to his wife Anne, who was several years older than Shakespeare and far away in Stratford taking care of their children. So what does not fade? Somebody's youthful good looks--a lovely, temperate summer--that the poet has made eternal. We just don't know whose!
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