Found via Samizdat blog, this e-book entitled Threading Shakespeare’s Sonnets makes me wishI could run around to all of those other sites on the web that claim to do a paraphrase / summary of each sonnet and say, “No, you fool, this is how you do it.”  Instead of trying to paraphrase word for word, Professor Bennett instead starts a conversation about what Shakespeare is trying to accomplish in the whole – the “threads of thought”, so to speak.  Most of the commentary is in the form of questions, backed up by references to the text.  What you end up with is a commentary that assumes you already know what you’re talking about, while at the same time reminding you.  Doesn’t treat you like you’re stupid, in other words. Example (from Sonnet 17, a favorite of mine): Here he looks to the future and the possible survival of the youth despite all-powerful time. Initially he questions what “the world” will think. Will it believe the speaker’s account of the youth’s worthiness (“high deserts,” l. 2)? If there are doubts, heaven (which by rights is more just than time or the world) knows that the speaker’s verses are like a tomb or monument that conceals the youth’s real life by not showing half his good qualities. (Note the change from the treatment of the grave and tomb in Sonnets 1 and 4).
After this pat on his own back, the speaker reveals more concern with appearances. He praises the physical beauty of the youth, especially his face and eyes (which will later prove to be deceptive)…. Also nice is the regular reference back to common themes (threads) in the other sonnets. The work is presented as PDF / ebook, rather than HTML, but I’m not sure why he could not have chosen to dynamically link such references.
Still, an excellent resource and I’m glad I found it.  Go browsing for your favorite sonnet and see what it has to say.  (Rats, I’m a little disappointed in the short treatment that 130 gets!)

Today I heard my 5 yr old singing at the lunch table.  Soon, her 3 yr old sister joined her.  This is a common occurence. What they were singing, however, caught my attention.  They were singing “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”. I said, “Katherine, what did you just say?” so fast that she thought she was in trouble.  “It wasn’t bad, sweetie, it was a good thing.  I wanted to hear you say it again.” “I was singing Shall I compare thee,” she said like she didn’t fully understand the significance.  Because, well she doesn’t.  🙂 They know that line because it is the ringtone on my phone.  My 3yr old calls it “The song your phone sings”.  My 5yr old knows it as Shakespeare.  I am anxiously awaiting the day that they can recite even more of it.  I realize the words mean nothing to them, but the memorization is a powerful tool.  After all, they can both do the Catholic Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary, even though most of the words are gibberish to them. If one of them manages a full stanza, I’ll make sure to record and post it for posterity :). Anybody needs me, I’ll be over here beside myself.

http://www.smokyglass.com/2007/08/27/books/the-10-most-expensive-books-of-2006/trackback/ This would be books sold at auction, in case you were curious, and the lowest price on the list is over $400k.  So dear Mr. Potter doesn’t get to crack this top ten.  But guess who got the #1 spot?  Gee, how hard can it be to guess, I mean, really, what blog am I posting to?

http://blogs.forbes.com/digitalrules/2007/08/only-the-bad-ne.html Forbes magazine offers, via Jerry Bowyer, the “Much Ado About Nothing Analytical Tool” for reading the business news.  It goes like this:

1. Make two columns on your piece of paper.
2. For everything you find that is factual, like “Hero is faithful”, write it in the left column.
3. For everything that is more about feelings and perceptions, like “Claudio thinks Hero is not faithful”, write it in the right column.
4. Then when you’re done, read the columns separately.

Extended out to the business news, the left shows you a picture of how the world really is, while the right shows you how the people perceive it.  Bonus points to the article for recognizing that it’s a matter of time for the right to catch up with the left.  In other words, eventually the facts do come out and people stop fooling themselves.  At least, about that set :).  By that time, a whole new set of facts has emerged for people to fool themselves.

http://bookology.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/starring-mr-rogers-as-macbeth/ The above post has so much Shakespeare goodness that I don’t have the time to summarize it all.  Go read.  Right on the money that Shakespeare may be a master, but that doesn’t mean that he’s above a little poking fun.  I have not yet checked out the media files, but as they say in the geek circles, “dugg for the Branagh reference at the end.” 🙂  Enjoy!