I'm not really for new-year's resolutions, because I've never stuck to one. Therefore, I made a fourth-of-January resolution this year: to read 10 Shakespeare plays! I read Hamlet in English last year, and quickly knew it to be the best thing I'd ever read (Polonius's speech in act II scene ii in particular). I also read Macbeth a couple of months ago.

Of course, I decided to continue with the tragedies by reading Othello and Romeo & Juliet over the last couple of weeks - loved them both. I consulted an older 'Speare enthusiast as to which plays to include on my reading list; having listed some obvious ones such as King Lear and Richard III, he concluded by mentioning that I should read Titus Andronicus at some point, but to push that point far into the future. But then reading Harold Bloom's assertion (in his tome Shakespeare: the invention of the human) that "I don't think I would see the play again unless Mel Brooks directed it...or perhaps it could yet be made into a musical," I was far too tempted, and foolishly took it up today instead of King Lear, as I had planned. If it really is a comedy, then it's damn hilarious. Otherwise, I hope I never hear of it again. Any suggestions as to what could quickly cleanse my palet?