What does Shakespeare really mean about "to be" and what does Hamlet learn about it, himself, and ALL OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE by the end of the most famous work in English?

Bloom, Harold. Shakeseapre: Invention of the Human. Riverhead Books: New York, 1998.

McCartney, Paul. "Let It Be." from Let It Be. Apple: London, 1970.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Harcourt: Toronto, 2003. 

In this epic walk through history and nostalgia of the superhero genre, Paul laments the fact that comic books are immune to any sort of real change, and that's a shame. 

It's a little known fact that the Ents of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings were actually inspired by the author's extreme dislike of a scene in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Paul talks the prophecies of Macbeth, their influence on LOTR, and Tolkien's brief use of prophecy himself.

Carpenter, Humphrey, Ed. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. London: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Polanski, Roman. Macbeth. UK/USA:  Playboy Productions and and Caliban Films, 1971.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Riverside Shakespeare. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.   

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Return of the King. London: Harper Collins, 2010.

In this episode, Paul looks at the most Tarantino-style director of them all: Quentin Tarantino.

Paul rates all of his movies from least best to best!

Paul looks at a specific allegorical novel that continues to have meaning. 

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. London: Martin Secker and Warburg, Ltd, 1945.

Paul talks about the most significant books, films, shows, and albums he encountered in the year that was 2022.

Here's a link to the whole list:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8864790044362597696/73039281794381240

By request, Paul talks about the Tolkien book that most people don't finish, which is funny because it's about 700 pages shorter than his best one.

Tolkein, J.R.R. The Silmarillion. Christopher Tolkien, ed. Houghton Mifflin: London, 1977. 

Paul discusses the 2022 film Prey, the umpteenth sequel to 1987's Predator, and the only one that's not bad, 

Trachtenburg, Dave. Prey. USA: 20th Century Studios, 2022. 

Paul discusses the life and times of that one and only Warrior Philosopher King Alexander the Great, and we consider how having a good edcation can propel you.

Savill, Agnes. Alexander the Great and His Times. London: Rockliffe, 1956. 

Hamlet is much bigger and better than it was supposed to be, so it's only natural that its existential death satire (if that's a genre) is too. Paul talks Tom Stoppard's brilliant 1966 play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Toronto: Thompson and Nelson, 2003.

Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. New York: Grove Press, 1967.