Tag Archives: politics

Old St. Peter’s, Visigoths and a Henry

St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome isn’t nearly as old as it looks. Architects in ancient Rome often covered large interior spaces with barrel vaults and semicircular arches, although they hadn’t invented either. Someone started using arches and vaults, probably in … Continue reading

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The Athenian Golden Age: Pericles, Aspasia, and All That

Ah! The Golden Age of Athens! “Golden age” arguably sounds classier than “the good old days.” But either way, it’s a bygone era that nostalgia says was so very much better than today. Folks living in a golden age may … Continue reading

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Evolution: Science, Religion, Opinions and Me

The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research has learned that more than half of all Americans think evolution is real. Seems that 2016 was the tipping point. That’s when my country, on average, decided to step into the late … Continue reading

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Marlowe’s Faustus: Chorus, Soliloquies and Film Noir

“Doctor Faustus…” starts with a 194-word soliloquy. Sort of. It’s delivered by Chorus, named last in Marlowe’s “Dramatis Personae.” Ancient Greek tragedies had a chorus, acting like today’s narrators. Again, sort of. Aristotle said that chorus was a character, so … Continue reading

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Christopher Marlowe and His World

I’d started writing about soliloquies in Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus….” That reminded me of film noir and the Gunpowder Plot. So today I’ll be discussing Christopher Marlowe, but mostly his era: Elizabethan England. Along with European politics and whatever else comes … Continue reading

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