Why did Shakespeare write Shakespeare
If vilia meritur vulgus* is true,
The groundlings who made up his theatre
Would find his language hard to chew.
If wealth were Shakespeare’s ‘lighted shaft’,
As modern historians deduce,
Then nonsense would more hit the mark
Than the brilliance he produced.
But, desiring immortality,
He wrote ‘So long lives this’,
This shows his partiality
Towards eternalness.
So I think both accounts […]

I’m a big Ayn Rand fan and used to be an Objectivist, that is, someone who believes that knowledge is gained through reason, that it is universally objective (as opposed to subjective), and that (amongst other things) man’s (and women’s) rational self-interest is in pursuing laissez-faire (hands-off) capitalism. Then I came to realise that ‘reason’ […]

I’ve always found it odd how great culture is confined to the fringes of society, such as Art Nouveau cinema houses, specialist book stores, and obscure art galleries, whilst poor (for lack of a better term) culture dominates from the centre. In a perfect world it should be the other way around. ‘Mass’ culture should […]

John Cage, the 20th century American composer and mushroom collector, once said that ‘I have nothing to say, and I am saying it, and that is poetry’. Well, transposed to postmodern times, this phrase could read ‘I have nothing to write and I’m blogging it’. I hope that this is not the case with this […]