O Thous't Blouddy Moratorium!

I'm going to put my Shakespeare reading quest on hold. How long this hold shall be, I am uncertain. At least until my life gets to a more stable, secure foundation. Read: until I get a job. A dignified, meaningful, and sane one, if such a one exists nowadays.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it immensely. I started off with a bang in May and got bogged down a bit once I started work the end of June. But it was during this period I read my favorite works, the Henry IV stuff, so though I had a bunch of other ephemera on my mind, I was still progressing from play to play, every fortnight or so.

Then I got to Lear right around the time I lost my job. And I discovered I just couldn't give it the attention it well deserves. Combination of monkey mind meets perpetual, habitual worry. How could I enjoy this old king losing his sanity when I felt that my own was on quite shaky ground?

So, the Shakespeare-in-a-Year is put aside for now. I read eleven plays (plus half of Lear) of Will's 37 or 39, or just under a third, in four months. I'm happy, 'cuz I was on track to get 'em all done in a twelvemonth. But there are other things that, regrettably, demand my attention at this moment.

Additionally, I read four books on the Bard and two on his plays. I feel that I can now discuss intelligently (or at least without embarrassing myself) on a wide variety of Shakespeareana, at least in comparison to six months ago. And I still remain fascinated by his words, his rhymes, his rhythm, his characters, his plots, his dramatization, and the overall subject of Elizabethan England.

Who'd'a thought?

I intend to do a great deal more spiritual reading (and squeeze in an SF quickie every now and then). With a little luck I can hopefully return to these wonderful plays in the springtime. I know I'll miss them and the experience I have come to love approaching a Shakespeare play for the first time.