Important factoid about Shakespeare: Born April 23, 1564. That's right, he was a Taurus.

Update on Shakespeare's Sonnets: The last two sonnets, 153 and 154, belong apparently neither to the Young Man nor the Dark Lady sequences. They are adaptations of a Greek epigram.

The latest in books from the New York Times:

Random (yet nonetheless relevant) Thoughts:

WORTH READING:

For my Shakespeare Class: Stephen Greenblatt's Will in the World; the comprehensive new biography of the Bard. Here, for your perusal, is the London Times Book Review.

For my Chaucer Class: Terry Jones' new book, Who Murdered Chaucer?

Remember how we all commented on how astute and diplomatic Chaucer must have been in order to survive Richard II's abdication? Terry Jones argues surviving that time period would have been a miracle, and that Chaucer, in fact, DIDN'T. A fun and readable book that rather makes you think. Click HERE for a pretty apt review.

Check out this great resource I just found from the Norton Folks:

TROJAN HORSE

				Where DID that Trojan horse story come from, you asked? How does everyone happen to know this one in the Middle Ages, if it's not described in the Iliad (which Chaucer wouldn't have been able to read anyway) nor the Aenead, nor any of the usual places someone like Chaucer might have looked? WELL....it looks like Chaucer's source for the Trojan Horse comes from Dares, who tells the entire story of the destruction of Troy. The part about Antenor being the future traitor of Troy is original to Chaucer's version of Troilus and Criseyde....some of the poet's manipulation of the forces of fate and foresight there, as some of you mentioned in class.
		For those of you who might think the Antifeminist Tradition is over and done with, check out these doozies from the forefather of our nation, Ben Franklin (the old coot!)
Another site I rather like:
	Theory Flash: The wumps at Johns Hopkins have decided to make us PAY to use their theory site! Don't these guys know that the whole point of the web is that it's supposed to be FREE? Well, no worries. Cathy has redirected us to the marvelous Postcolonial Criticism site instead, and I'm sure I'll be posting others soon.

This just in from Jetta: "Hey…I was looking up Meleagre while I was reviewing Chaucer and I came across this picture of Diomedes being eaten by his own horses. Are you familiar with this myth? I read that he raised his horses on human flesh to be as savage as he was in battle and during one of his labors Hercules killed him by allowing his own horses to consume him. I thought you might like this."

And like it I do! Though my sources tell me that Diomedes of the flesh-eating horses is Diomedes of Thrace, a diferent character from our Diomed, the son of Tydeus. The ultimate demise of our Diomed is rather tedious (no pun intended). After surviving the war with Troy, Diomed returned home and, according to some stories, lived a worrisome life ever after, losing his wife, marrying another, getting expelled from his hometown, having to found another minor itty bitty kingdom elsewhere. He never did well by it, though. According to Homer he had earned the wrath of Aphrodite during the war, and she resented him ever after.

I like this myth much better.

Cletus. Our Corgi.

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