Ezra Pound, in ABC of Reading (1934), states that great literature is ‘language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree’. As a concise definition of great literature, could there be a more accurate statement than Pound’s? Great writers use language with originality, mastery, and ingenuity. Writers who are not great have little originality beyond […]
‘The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Poetry Analysis (Video)
Another day, another poem analysis. This one’s a short one, easy to memorise, called ‘The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. I only expected to read it, but couldn’t help picking apart why it’s so poignant to me too. ‘The Eagle’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Poetry Analysis What do you think of Tennyson’s ‘The Eagle’? He […]
How to Annotate Your Books for Effective Note-Taking (Video)
The question I get asked the most is: how do you mark and annotate your books for effective note-taking? Most readers are hesitant to begin marking their books, and I completely sympathise. It took me years before I realised that the sign of true love for a book, and respect for its author, is to […]
Books I’m Reading This Month: May/June 2020 (Video)
To be honest, I’ve got more books on the go than I can possibly manage. Books turn up at my door every day. Either because I’ve got drunk and ordered them, or because some kind soul wants me to review their work, or because I’m obligated to order everything those close to me recommend. But […]
Analysing Shakespeare’s Sonnets: 2, 20 & 29 (Video)
Three of my favourite Shakespeare sonnets are: II, XX & XXIX. Here’s a reading followed by a quick analysis, linking them together. I just scratched the surface of why I love these sonnets. I’m thinking I’ll put together a series of quick “intro” type videos to Shakespeare’s sonnets, three at a time, not going above […]
‘All The World’s A Stage’ by Shakespeare: Poetry Reading (Video)
Today I’m reading Jaques’ iconic monologue from As You Like It (Act II Scene VII Line 139). One of my favourite monologues in all of Shakespeare. Of course, there’s Lear’s ‘Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!’ Lear himself being a perfect representation of what Jaques refers to as ‘second childishness’. Then there’s countless lines from […]
How to Adapt Shakespeare (A John Dryden Case Study)
The word ‘adapt’ has its etymological root in the Latin ‘adaptare’, meaning ‘to make fit’. And today I’m going to attempt (or essay upon) how one might adapt Shakespeare, make his work fit, into the cultural, political, and historical context of their time. We’ll do this by looking at one of the most interesting adaptors of […]
The Jazz of Jack Kerouac
In ‘Essentials of Spontaneous Prose’, Kerouac instructed the reader to ‘tap from yourself the song of yourself’. Just one of the many implications that Kerouac viewed the writer’s approach to prose and the approach to poetry as being the same. An idea that was reinforced in his ‘Belief & Technique for Modern Prose’, in which […]
How to Read and Perform Shakespeare
Don’t read Shakespeare through our modern lens. Understand the theatrical conventions of Shakespeare’s day, and you understand Shakespeare. One wouldn’t use Stanislavsky’s method acting to perform a play by Bertolt Brecht or Anton Artaud, and it just as quickly falls flat with Shakespeare. Those in the know cringe when those adapting Shakespeare believe all they […]
How to Read the Stoics (Video)
Forget lists of a thousand books to read before you die. Forget read-a-book a week challenges (for now). And just concentrate on wringing all the juice you possibly can out of these three books: Meditations Letters from a Stoic 7 Habits of Highly Effective People This 2-minute video is built upon the audacious premise that […]
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