Monthly Archives: August 2013

Curculio 2: ‘Pervert the Present Wrath’: a Conjecture on Cymbeline

I am experimenting with publishing original scholarly notes on this site. My first attempt, a week ago, was a single page on the structure of Silius Italicus’ Punica. I have just uploaded a PDF file of my second paper, two … Continue reading

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Curculio 1: Silius Italicus: Why Seventeen Books?

The unusual length of Silius Italicus’ Punica has often caused puzzlement. Antony Augoustakis discusses the point in the first chapter of the recent Brill companion to Silius. He credits Michael von Albrecht with noting that the number of books “corresponds … Continue reading

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Anachronistic Joke

The hero of John Webster’s Duchess of Malfi, the only decent adult other than the title character, is her steward, Antonio Bologna. With a name like that, I can’t help wondering if his middle-school classmates called him ‘Tony Baloney’.

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Shakespeare Puzzle

Legal Disclaimer: There is no prize, and if there were, employees and customers of the American Shakespeare Center would not be eligible for it, since anyone who has seen the production already knows the answer. Can you identify the play … Continue reading

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Too Bad About the Gender

I love puns, even (or especially) the unintentional and bilingual kind. Browsing Cicero’s Verrines recently, I was very glad to run across a ‘most experienced and hardworking ploughman’ (experientissimus ac diligentissimus arator) named ‘Nympho’ (2.3.53-54).

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