Monthly Archives: September 2011

Word Cloud of Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” section 1

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Peter Schmidt

Using “Wordle” [available at wordle.net] and pasting in the online text of section 1 of “Song of Myself” (given at the end of this post), here is the “word cloud” that was generated: (Click on the image if you’d like … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Orsino’s opening speech in Twelfth Night, and on the ending of the play—as occasioned by re-reading the play to attend Pig Iron’s performance in the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, September 2011

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Peter Schmidt

Re-reading Twelfth Night in September 2011 in preparation for seeing Pig Iron’s interpretation of it in Philly’s Live Arts Fest, I re-lived my delight in this great comedy, which I first discovered when I was twenty.  But somewhat to my … Continue reading →

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Could Beowulf Have Been a Source for the Star Wars Lightsaber?

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Peter Schmidt

I’ve been reading my colleague Craig Williamson’s splendid new translation of Beowulf, the first time I’ve re-read this poem since college.  Coming across Craig’s fun discussion of compound words and “kennings” in Anglo-Saxon poetry (pp. 8-9; kennings are 2-word metaphorical … Continue reading →

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