Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai

Tag Archives: Shakespeare


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Shakespearian Insults – a Primer

shakWe discussed briefly in the past the art and practice of Latin and Greek profanities.
But when it comes to colorful language, I stick by the Elizabethans, and indeed a lot of Shakespearean insults are not only useful as we write fantasy (historical or otherwise), but also in real life.
Sure it takes’em by surprise.

And despite what some may think, a well-placed insult can carry a lot of information and push the narrative forward.

And here’s a short round-up of Shakespearean insults as narrative devices, for starters… Continue reading →


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Macbeth as a mystery novel

“It was a stupid mistake to make,” said the American woman I had met at my hotel in the English lake country, “but it was on the counter with the other Penguin books – the little sixpenny ones, you know; with the paper covers – and I supposed of course it was a detective story All the others were detective stories.”

truancy2Believe it or not, but the lines above have been haunting me for something like 35 years.

I read them – and the story they belong to – when I was around 12, as I browsed my school anthology trying to keep boredom at bay… why?
I can’t remember.

I just remember I was bored out of my mind, I reading in class, and I chanced upon a story in my reading anthology, and I read it. Continue reading →