Romeo and Juliet has never ranked among my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays, but I have to admit there are some lines from it that have stuck with me. “What’s in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other word would smell as sweet.So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,Retain that dear perfection which he owesWithout that title.” Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2 It’s a beautiful sentiment Juliet expresses here, explaining that Romeo’s name, the hated name of her family’s enemy, doesn’tContinue reading “What’s In a Name”
Tag Archives: Folklore
Tricksters: Chaos, Cleverness, and Change in Myth and Modern Story
What do rabbits, spiders, and fairies have in common? If you answered that they’re all associated with the trickster archetype in literature and folklore, then hypothetical cookies for you (or some other imaginary treat of your choice)!
Mermaids Around the World
As I sat down to brainstorm a blog post (and as I’m writing, as a matter of fact), my friend Bex finally convinced me to watch the 2023 live action The Little Mermaid. I wouldn’t say I’ve been avoiding it, but it hasn’t been high on my to-do list (shocking, I know, given that I’mContinue reading “Mermaids Around the World”
The Many Legends of Baba Yaga
One of the pillars of fairy tales is their recurring themes and character archetypes. It’s even common to see names used over and over again (Jack, Hans, even Snow-White is used in several unrelated stories). But it’s rare to see the same character appear in multiple fairy and folk tales, like we see in theContinue reading “The Many Legends of Baba Yaga”
Kate G. Jameson 