Blair MahoneyinI like to watch… ShakespeareFarewell to Falstaff: Henry IV, Part TwoIn my instalment on Henry IV, Part One, I claimed that it “is Shakespeare’s most perfectly constructed play.” What to make, then, of this…Apr 11, 2023Apr 11, 2023
Blair MahoneyThe MHS World Cup of Literature 2022: Round 1 Match — Belarus v SpainIt’s time for another instalment of the MHS World Cup of Literature, which I last ran in 2020. This year, I have fifteen students in my…Jul 25, 2022Jul 25, 2022
Blair MahoneyWhat I’ve been reading in 2022It’s (just over) half way through the year, so it’s a good chance to take stock of what I’ve been reading and what the highlights have been…Jul 10, 2022Jul 10, 2022
Blair MahoneyWriting for Wikipedia: a collaborative task for Year 9 English studentsI’ve long been a fan of Wikipedia, which is almost certainly ‘the last best place on the Internet.’ I’m also a big believer in giving…Jun 14, 20221Jun 14, 20221
Blair MahoneyinI like to watch… ShakespeareFalstaff as fail-safe: The Merry Wives of WindsorThere is a legend that has grown around this play that Queen Elizabeth was so taken with the character of Falstaff in Henry IV, Part One…Dec 29, 2021Dec 29, 2021
Blair MahoneyThe alien world: searching for ‘living space’The law of life is movement. The circumscribed dies. Exodus is as necessary anywhere there is life, as ingress. We were the only British…Aug 22, 20211Aug 22, 20211
Blair MahoneyCommencing countdown, engines onApparently, for astronauts re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere in a Soyuz space capsule after a stay on the International Space Station, the…Aug 10, 2021Aug 10, 2021
Blair MahoneyinI like to watch… ShakespeareHeir-raising exploits: Henry IV, Part OneOkay, let’s get the bold claim out there: this is Shakespeare’s most perfectly constructed play. Is it his best play? Not necessarily…Jul 8, 20211Jul 8, 20211
Blair MahoneyinExploring EkphrasisEkphrastic wanderingsFor a number of years I’ve asked my students to write poems inspired by artworks. My initial incursions in this area came from my…Mar 17, 2021Mar 17, 2021
Blair MahoneyRe-membering the Past: The Phallic Afterlife of The 1,001 NightsI’d like to say a few words about the penis. I realise that it may not seem like the most polite way to start an article (or a…Dec 20, 20201Dec 20, 20201