“Reading it specifically in the context of the current societal struggles and apparently widespread cultural conflicts occurring in the United States today, the myth imbues the reader with a redoubled vigilance.”
Political Interviews – The Latest
Latest from the Arts
Latest Book Review
On the Record: Past Interviews
Category: Criticism
The Oedipus Complex of a Nation in Flux
What “The Merchant of Venice” Has to Say about Justice
“Just as it was in Shakespeare’s time, the questions of justice, mercy, and society remain as relevant as ever before, and we have much to learn from the great bard of Anglodom.”
Achilles, Priam, and the Redemptive Power of Forgiveness
“For all the battle scenes, violent sex, and rage that fills the poem, the most memorable scenes in the poem are moments of love—especially loving moments of embrace.”
Maurizio Cattelan and When Art “Ridicules Art Itself”
“This is an art which no longer presumes to speak to or for the general public. Such an art “assails all previous art” and even “ridicules art itself.”
Can We Read Moby Dick?
“But, as I found myself stumbling in my response to my sister, a more elemental question arose: Can we read Moby Dick?”
Aeschylus’ “Prometheus Bound”: Where Is Meaning to be Found?
“Aeschylus’ tragedy represents the most elemental aspects of our human condition: all human flourishing comes with a cost.”
Aristophanes: The First Poet Critic
In the words of German poet Henrich Heine: “There is a God, and his name is Aristophanes.”
Why Aeschylus Still Matters Today
“But Aeschylus’ cosmos goes beyond Homer’s in presenting Reason, Persuasion, as an integral aspect of the cosmos that was otherwise absent in Homer.”
Poetry and Modernity
“Any civilization or culture is itself a vast dynamic interpretation or, we could even say, a vast dynamic work of art.”
