TODAY'S WORD

IMPREGNABLE

1. Able to resist attack.


FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Any writer, I suppose, feels that the world into which he was born
is nothing less than a conspiracy against the cultivation of his talent.

James Baldwin, African American author (1923-1987)

COMMENTARY

Lately I have read a number of books about different subjects. One could also say I'm a jack of all trades and a master of none. I look at it as part of my education because it should be well rounded as well as ground in the basics. I guees that may be the reason that I don't have any particular writers who I'm a fanatic of. I enjoy a number of different writers and genres. I like Edgar Allan Poe, Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare, and Plato. Pretty diverse I must say. I get some great nuggets for future writings.

I do my research on the era that writer lived and apply it to a comtemporary setting. One can take many liberties and make it one's own creation. Often I imagine what it was like to live in a particular time and place. What was 1930's Harlem like? What was Poe's state of mind when he wrote 'The Raven?' Was Shakespeare sharing with the readers what 16th century England was like? It's amazing how in tune these great writers were with their surroundings and the people.

It's great to explore and discover different writers and different styles. There are some who may not be as famous as others but their writing can be an ivaluable tool towards expanding our writing horizons.

TODAY'S WORD

BOW

1. Submit
2. Bend the head or body; act of bowing

Withdraw (bow out)

NOUN
1. Bend or arch
2. Weapon for shooting arrows
3. Knot with loops
4. Rod with stretched horsehairs for playing a stringed instrument

VERB
1. Curve or bend

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Expand your horizons. Read different genres. Research things that you may not understand. Play on words. Be creative.

Commentary

This past semester We read many of the plays of William Shakespeare. I must say that it was quite an education into the man who wrote them. Plays such as 'Hamlet', 'MacBeth', 'Richard III', and 'The Tempest' revealed how much Shakespeare knew about the world that he lived in. In his later works, Shakespeare demonstrated his awareness of the changing landscape of 16th century England.
I was fortunate to have read 'Julius Caesar' months prior to taking the course. The language used by Shakespeare was cumbersome at first, but once I understood the meaning of many words, the course went smoother than I thought. I don't know which is my favorite Shakespearean play, but I am drawn to 'Hamlet' because he was a complex and multiplural individual. I haven't read all of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets so my opinion about my favorite play will have to wait.
Shakespeare touched on subjects like valor, power, gender, sexuality, honor and other virtues and vices. He was not moralistic in his tone but he did know what the human heart was capable of. As a person, I find Shakespeare to be brilliant, innovative, enigmatic, shrewd, and perceptive. He is one of those people who I cannot figure out becase they are many shades of gray in his personal life. Maybe that's what makes Shakepeare a fascinating and mysterious person. It may be that he has left us to think of what we think and say about him.