Hamlet is a Huge Personality

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I was reading Hamlet recently. You know the story – he comes home from studying at university on the occasion of his father’s funeral, only to find that his mother has already gotten remarried to Claudius, the brother of Hamlet’s father. And as if that isn’t bad enough, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears and tells Hamlet and two of his … Read More

Subjects of Emotional Insight in “A Streetcar Named Desire”

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Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh as Stanley Kowalski and Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” The play “A Streetcar Named Desire” is an American classic. This post will suggest the topics of emotional insight Tennessee Williams may be looking into in “Streetcar.” (Note: Justly famous as the film version is, it is important to be aware that the … Read More

An Example of Emotional Insight (from Shakespeare)

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Olivia Husssey in Zeffirelli’s Production of “Romeo and Juliet” In the previous post, “Fundamentals,” we began talking about what it is that a work of art communicates: emotional insight. Let’s look at another example. This one is super-famous. Romeo:  But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. That is pretty easy … Read More

Site Launch Post

Vik RubenfeldNovel, Painting, Play, Poem2 Comments

Vermeer’s “The Art of Painting” The consciousness of what makes a work of art has been won and lost by civilizations repeatedly throughout the ages. In civilizations where that consciousness is widespread among the public, many timeless works of art are produced. A few examples (a very partial and incomplete list):