Ian H > Recent Status Updates

Book II complete.

Act IV done.

Act III complete.

“Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose
To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude,
And, in the calmest and most stillest night,
With all appliances and means to boot,
Deny it to a king? Then, happy low, lie down.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

Act II done.

Introduction and Book I done.

Very different style from the Iliad and Odyssey. Also, I think I read where Shakespeare got the idea of Hamlet (in part) from. Neat!

Induction and Act I complete.

Sonnets LXXXV - XCI

This week’s sonnets continue a theme of the writer being nothing without his love. To me, Sonnet LXXXVII does it best of the bunch. That said, it’s not really resonating with me. Shakespeare captures the storybook, fairytale type of love, but it rings as being one-sided and shallow. Where’s the writer’s self respect?

Act IV done.

Act III done.

Acts I & II done.

A comedy featuring Falstaff? Count me in!

Sonnets LXXVIII-LXXXIV

This week’s standout is Sonnet LXXIX, which has a nice circularity in its logic.

“Yet what of thee thy poet doth invent / he robs thee of and pays it thee again. . . . Then thank him not for that which he doth say, / Since what he owes thee thou thyself dost pay.”

The rest follow the similar trend of his love being immortalized by his writing of her in verse.

“White Nights”

A short story of a dreamer experiencing unrequited love. It’s short, but it packs a punch and makes me reminisce about similar experiences in my twenties.

There’s actually another short story in here called “Bobok.” I’ll discuss that in the review.

Act II done.

The anti-semitism is strong in this one.

Act I done.

Sonnets LXXI-LXXVII (halfway done!)

This week’s standout is Sonnet LXXVI because I have been thinking how redundant these are starting to feel, and this sonnet is Shakespeare saying, “Yeah, this is what I do. Live with it!”

Volume III, Part 2 (Book 10) complete!

Act IV done.

Act III done.