-
Under the Volcano: The Death of Yvonne
Under the Volcano is our main focus in this month’s Culture Club. In an earlier Penguin Modern Edition (I don’t have a link, as it’s no longer published) the introduction features a very length letter that Lowry wrote in 1946 to Jonathan Cape (the publisher) arguing against suggested cuts. He goes through each of the 12 […]
-
Culture Club: Theme for May – July 2010
Well, it’s been a long time since I updated the Culture Club blog. There’s been a big gap between meetings, but the Culture Club is still going, have no fear. This time we’ve decided on a Mexican theme for the works we’re looking at. Why? No reason, it just seemed to fall into place when […]
-
Is Shakespeare a Greater Poet or a Greater Dramatist?
My English teacher at school once told me: ‘Shakespeare is a greater poet than he is a dramatist.’ This isn’t meant to mean that Shakespeare wrote better poems than plays, which is clearly not the case. Rather it means that the poetry in his plays is what drives the drama, and it is in his […]
-
Shakespeare’s Sonnets: Form and Meaning in Lyric Poetry
I’m just reading Helen Vendler’s The Art of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (Amazon affiliate link). I think she is my favourite interpreter of poetry, and this might be her greatest work. Every page is revelatory. One of her major themes is that a consideration of ‘form’ in lyric poetry is vital for a full understanding of the […]
-
Shakespeare’s Sonnets: Essays, Resources and Links
The following links offer useful and free online resources for the study and analysis of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Full text Shakespeare: Sonnets – easy access to all 154 sonnets The amazing web site of Shakespeare’s Sonnets – this site is a little clumsy to navigate, but does feature the complete texts plus useful commentaries and sonnets […]
-
Culture Club: Theme for January – February 2010
January – February 2010 Happy new year to all Culture Club readers! This month we’re looking at some of the greatest poetry in the English language, and some other works that relate to it. Here’s the list: The Sonnets – William Shakespeare (poems) The Portrait of Mr W.H. – Oscar Wilde (short story) Nothing Like the […]
-
Analysis: Here, There and Everywhere by The Beatles
Here, There and Everywhere is one of the best songs on The Beatles’ Revolver and its brightest affirmation. Paul McCartney is the song’s sole writer (despite the Lennon/McCartney credit), and it is suffused with his inveterate sentimentality. But it is sentimental in the best possible way, balancing finely ordered poetic thought with an intoxication that suggests the writer […]
-
Analysis: Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles
Eleanor Rigby is perhaps the Beatles’ most shocking song. Not simply because of the sound of it, which was an abrupt departure for its time, but because of its theme. It is hard to think of a more desolate statement in any work of art, let alone popular music. This song marked a sudden break […]
-
See the Nutcracker at the Cinema this Christmas
If you can’t make it to the Royal Opera House to see The Nutcracker this Christmas, you need not miss out. Opus Arte, the ROH’s multi-platform arts production and distribution company, is bringing The Nutcracker to cinema screens across the country, filmed in a high-definition recording from the Royal Opera House itself. To promote the […]
-
Leonard Bernstein: From Mahler to the Beatles
For our discussions on The Beatles’ Revolver album I dug out the clip below from Leonard Bernstein’s celebrated lecture series The Unanswered Question, Six Talks at Harvard. This short extract is from Lecture 5: The 20th Century Crisis, in which he focuses on Mahler’s 9th Symphony. He sees this great symphony as a prophetic vision […]