Although Othello is accused of using witchcraft to woo Desdemona, it is actually a story that causes her to fall in love with him. At the invitation of Desdemona's father, Othello recounts his life “from year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes” of his days: his enslavement among his enemies, his travels through foreign lands, his daring escapes. The story leaves Desdemona in tears. As Othello sums up: “She loved me for the dangers I had passed. / And I loved her that she did pity them. / This is the only witchcraft … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence: The Justice of Story
Shakespeare
“Your crooked heart”: Literary Study and Spiritual Formation (Scholar’s Call)
John Runciman, King Lear in the Storm, 1767 Act III of Shakespeare's King Lear gets to me every time. Lear, spectacularly blinded by pride and bereft of power in his old age, having foolishly exiled one daughter and exposed himself to betrayal by the other two, retreats into a storm with his Fool and descends into madness, shaking his fist at nature, railing, “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!” … [Read more...] about “Your crooked heart”: Literary Study and Spiritual Formation (Scholar’s Call)