In Shakespeare, “Anywhere You Dig, You Actually Get to Some Kind of Deep Groundwater!”—Use of Visual, Evocative Expression to Emphasize One’s Point

Here’s a recent example of a highly effective communicator using a vivid, evocative expression while emphasizing something and thus making his assertion indelible—an example which, I hope, will inspire the rest of us into similarly imaginative analogies, especially when we are trying to break through the clutter.

• In his new book “Tyrant—Shakespeare on Power,” renowned Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt explores The Bard’s relevance to the current political goings-on. Elaborating on the central theme of that publication during a “BBC World News America” interview, Greenblatt suggested: “In difficult times, it helps you to take a deep breath and look at things from an oblique angle because Shakespeare is arguably the greatest, deepest, profoundest thinker of human life.”  He then added: “One of the marvelous things about Shakespeare is anywhere you dig, you actually get to some kind of deep groundwater.”

Of special interest to students and teachers of Shakespeare:
On being asked which play of Shakespeare best mirrors our world, Greenblatt replied: “There are several, (most notably) Richard III; Henry VI, Part 2; ...”

© Copyright 2018  V. J. Singal

The Highly Acclaimed Kenneth Branagh on “Why Shakespeare?” – “His Words Trigger Explosions in the Human Imagination…”

Earlier this summer, in coordination with the opening of his “Macbeth” in New York, Kenneth Branagh appeared on “Charlie Rose.” During the interview, the host put his customary question “Why Shakespeare?” to Branagh – a question which Charlie Rose has asked of every previous Shakespeare-related guest. Result, a most thoughtful and graphic response:

“He consistently entertains, by which I mean he stimulates, and provokes, and makes us laugh and cry, and goes beyond words. There is an atmosphere in the play that is evoked and conjured in the presence of the words which are, after all, only words on a page--that’s all they are--but they trigger these explosions in the human imagination and in the human spirit…”

I can’t recall any previous guest on “Charlie Rose” giving such an analytical and vivid explanation of what makes Shakespeare’s plays so unique and rewarding.

© Copyright 2014  V. J. Singal

Why Shakespeare? The Bard’s Relevance to our Life and Times

During the week of November 4, 2013, Charlie Rose’s guests included a panel comprising the director and actors from an all-female adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” So, just as he has done in previous programs involving guests who have staged or acted in Shakespeare’s plays, Charlie asked this panel the question: “Why Shakespeare,” meaning why should we care or bother about Shakespeare, particularly his plays.

Here are the comments of two of those on the panel that night:

Phyllida Lloyd (who directed the production): “it never dies…applies to every moment of the present…you feel you are watching a play of the world around us.”

Frances Barber (who plays the title role of Julius Caesar): “I don’t think there is any emotion any human being has ever been able to experience that he (Shakespeare) hasn’t covered—love, broken heart, jealousy, ambition, political ambitions, thwarted ambition, old age, regret—there is nothing he has not covered in the best poetry ever.”

In future blog posts, I hope to feature the responses of some other recent guests of Charlie Rose who have answered his customary question “Why Shakespeare?” in a meaningful and noteworthy manner. I believe these responses can help teachers of English literature draw greater enthusiasm, passion, and appreciation from students studying works of the Great Bard of Stratford.

© Copyright 2013  V. J. Singal

The Tense “Fiscal Cliff” Negotiations last December-end: “Congress Could Teach Shakespeare Something About…"

Remember all that nationwide anxiety, consternation, and indignation during the last few days of 2012, when Congressional leaders and the White House were locked in protracted talks to avoid the much-feared Dec. 31 “fiscal cliff,” and an agreement was reached only in the wee hours of January 1?

Well, while watching something on PBS earlier today, I learned that because that Dec. 31 deal was only partial, a couple more financial deadlines are just around the corner. So, you can bet that given the internecine feuding within the Republican Party, there will be a repeat of last year’s posturing and attendant cliffhangers, once again enervating and taxing the patience of all the stakeholders--American business, the nation as a whole, and the international financial community at large.

Thinking about all the drama that is about to unfold for news junkies like me, I was reminded of a humorous comment made by S&P Capital IQ’s Chief Equity Strategist Sam Stovall during the Dec. 31, 2012, edition of PBS’s “NBR.” Voicing the public’s acute frustration at there not having been a decision as late as 5 p.m. that day, Stovall remarked: “It certainly confirms what I’ve always thought—that Congress could teach Shakespeare something about drama.”

© Copyright 2013  V. J. Singal

Shakespeare’s Enormous and Vibrant Literary Legacy

I have long known that William Shakespeare has been, by far, the single biggest contributor of phrases and sayings to the English language. But, while listening to this past Tuesday’s edition of Garrison Keillor’s “Writer’s Almanac,” I was a bit surprised to learn that several of the idioms that are in my everyday lexicon originated from the Bard. They include, for instance, “Greek to me,” “dead as a doornail,” “a wild goose chase,” “night owl,” and “a fool’s paradise.”  

Keillor also pointed out that the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) credits Shakespeare with having coined some 3,000 new words!  For the complete April 23 segment of “Writer’s Almanac,” click here: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2013/04/23

© Copyright 2013  V. J. Singal

How to Successfully Goad Someone into Saying Something When They are Speechless or Just Cannot Find the Words

Here is a surefire way to successfully exhort someone into uttering something if and when the latter just cannot find the words (because of, say, the momentousness of the occasion): “Just say anything…You don’t have to be Shakespeare!”

Got the above idea from a recent episode of the wildly popular Masterpiece series “Downton Abbey.”

© Copyright 2012 V. J. Singal