Shakespeare and Trump

Last week, I announced a competition in honor of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, on April 23, 1616. The competition is, needless to say, a mere addendum, a minor complement, a negligible appendage to the main TWS commemoration of Shakespeare-Paul Cantor’s terrific cover piece in the new issue, “Against Chivalry”. So before getting to the competition’s results, I’d be remiss if I didn’t urge you not merely to read Cantor’s article, but also to go to the Great Thinkers website on Shakespeare, curated by Cantor, for guidance to further reading. But as to the competition: I asked, “What lines of Shakespeare best characterize Donald Trump?” I stipulated that you’d get no credit for comparing Trump’s campaign to “a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing.” (Macbeth Act V Scene v) That one was just too obvious. What did you all come up with? Lots of apt Shakespearean descriptions for Trump’s campaign or the man himself. I feel I’ve done a good deed in enticing many of you back to Shakespeare (if you’d ever been away). In any case, here are a few apt and brief contributions (after all, “brevity is the soul of wit”). Regarding the outcome of New York’s primary (and probably tomorrow’s contests as well): “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 3 Scene ii) Regarding Trump’s disparagement of John McCain and other POW’s: “He jests at scars that never felt a wound.” (Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene ii) Regarding Trump himself: “An infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality.” (All’s Well That Ends Well Act III Scene vi) And: “The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.” (Henry V, Act IV Scene iv) And: “Masters, do not forget to specify, when time and place shall serve, that I am an ass.” (Much Ado About Nothing Act V Scene i) And regarding the appropriate response to Trump: “Never, never, never, never, never!” (King Lear V iii)