About the English Renaissance

by Herminne Tonita - In England the Renaissance is usually thought of as beginning with the accession of the House of Tudor to the throne in 1485. Politically, this marks the end of the period of civil wars among the old feudal aristocracy-the War of the Roses, and the establishment of something like a modern, efficient, centralized state. This date is also close to that of the introduction of...

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

by Herminne Tonita - "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare develops at three stages simultaneously according to an intricate, yet very symmetrical structure. These three sub-plots are linked by certain common elements: one character, Puck, the place, the woods of Athens, the time, Midsummer Eve and a certain type of experience, the dream. The three sub-plots have three different...

Hamlet's Questions

by Cristina Nuta - Shakespeare serves a wide variety of cultural purposes, from political nationalism around the globe to modern-day instruction in ‘leadership’ for business and corporate culture. He is in a way always two playwrights, not one: the playwright of his time and the playwright of our time, whatever time that is. Both ‘of an age’ and ‘for all time’, Shakespeare is the defining...