Comments on: The Bard of the Financial Crisis http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html The Law, the Universe, and Everything Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:19:19 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 By: bkmoon http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43807 bkmoon Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:41:34 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43807 Extremely witty, and further proof that Shakespeare was in fact a robot from the future. Also, I'm glad I can now use the terms "fat tail" and "black swan" at parties -- which I am sure will increase my credibility regarding all things financial. All thanks to you. Extremely witty, and further proof that Shakespeare was in fact a robot from the future.

Also, I’m glad I can now use the terms “fat tail” and “black swan” at parties — which I am sure will increase my credibility regarding all things financial. All thanks to you.

]]> By: bkmoon http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43806 bkmoon Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:41:25 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43806 Extremely witty, and further proof that Shakespeare was in fact a robot from the future. Also, I'm glad I can now use the terms "fat tail" and "black swan" at parties -- which I am sure will increase my credibility regarding all things financial. All thanks to you. Extremely witty, and further proof that Shakespeare was in fact a robot from the future.

Also, I’m glad I can now use the terms “fat tail” and “black swan” at parties — which I am sure will increase my credibility regarding all things financial. All thanks to you.

]]> By: bkmoon http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43805 bkmoon Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:41:17 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43805 Extremely witty, and further proof that Shakespeare was in fact a robot from the future. Also, I'm glad I can now use the terms "fat tail" and "black swan" at parties -- which I am sure will increase my credibility regarding all things financial. All thanks to you. Extremely witty, and further proof that Shakespeare was in fact a robot from the future.

Also, I’m glad I can now use the terms “fat tail” and “black swan” at parties — which I am sure will increase my credibility regarding all things financial. All thanks to you.

]]> By: devil http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43804 devil Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:46:55 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43804 Uh-oh, I see what looks like a Word-induced spelling problem in that last excerpt (I'm assuming you used Word, with its arrogant tendency to "fix" things without asking first). There are a couple instances where Shakespeare's "thy" has been changed to "they." It looks like you caught some, but not others (or maybe those theys are your mistakes after all..? Nah, you're a Harvard J.D.-- it's gotta be Word's fault!). It looks to me like the quality of Shakespeare's verse has been strained (by being forced through Microsoft's crummy colander)! (And boy, that Tim Hulsey sure seems like a smart guy, and he really knows a lot about Shakespeare, but I'm still not gonna invite to any of MY parties until he learns what a "joke" is...) Uh-oh, I see what looks like a Word-induced spelling problem in that last excerpt (I’m assuming you used Word, with its arrogant tendency to “fix” things without asking first). There are a couple instances where Shakespeare’s “thy” has been changed to “they.” It looks like you caught some, but not others (or maybe those theys are your mistakes after all..? Nah, you’re a Harvard J.D.– it’s gotta be Word’s fault!).

It looks to me like the quality of Shakespeare’s verse has been strained (by being forced through Microsoft’s crummy colander)!

(And boy, that Tim Hulsey sure seems like a smart guy, and he really knows a lot about Shakespeare, but I’m still not gonna invite to any of MY parties until he learns what a “joke” is…)

]]> By: Nate http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43803 Nate Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:25:38 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43803 Tim: You forgot to point out that Shakespeare also doesn't (explicitly at least) refer to Antonio's complex statistical models ;->. Tim: You forgot to point out that Shakespeare also doesn’t (explicitly at least) refer to Antonio’s complex statistical models ;->.

]]> By: Tim Hulsey http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43802 Tim Hulsey Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:59:31 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43802 Apologies: I should have placed quotation marks around "his" in the phrase "his capital," since -- as the play makes clear (but again, as Oman has overlooked, for reasons inexplicable unless he's just not an attentive reader) -- Shylock's capital isn't really his own. It should be noted, too, that Antonio's lending of money gratis has less to do with "wild lending practices" or "irrational exuberance" than with religious proscriptions against money-lending. Shylock's remark, "I hate him for he is a Christian," is thus more relevant to the play than most readers, including Oman, understand. Apologies: I should have placed quotation marks around “his” in the phrase “his capital,” since — as the play makes clear (but again, as Oman has overlooked, for reasons inexplicable unless he’s just not an attentive reader) — Shylock’s capital isn’t really his own. It should be noted, too, that Antonio’s lending of money gratis has less to do with “wild lending practices” or “irrational exuberance” than with religious proscriptions against money-lending. Shylock’s remark, “I hate him for he is a Christian,” is thus more relevant to the play than most readers, including Oman, understand.

]]> By: Tim Hulsey http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43801 Tim Hulsey Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:51:32 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43801 This is a very selective reading of the play, not particularly persuasive for persons with more than a passing knowledge of the text. Among the most obvious points Oman overlooks: Shylock refuses a return of approximately 300% on his capital in favor of the critical pound of flesh (his remark about fish bait is spiteful). And Portia prevails in court not by force of rhetoric, but by invoking a second, little-known law of Venice -- one that effectively condemns Shylock as a traitor to the state. (The latter point is so crucial to the play, I'm sort of surprised Oman didn't notice it.) Shylock's behavior grows increasingly irrational as the play progresses, possibly because of his anger over the elopement of his daughter Jessica (a situation which Antonio gladly aids and abets). The Jessica subplot, of course, is an elaboration of most of the antisemitic tropes in Elizabethan literature at the time; see Marlowe's JEW OF MALTA for many, many more examples. To be fair, directors who impose a contemporary agenda on Shakespeare generally don't fare much better than Oman did. This is a very selective reading of the play, not particularly persuasive for persons with more than a passing knowledge of the text. Among the most obvious points Oman overlooks: Shylock refuses a return of approximately 300% on his capital in favor of the critical pound of flesh (his remark about fish bait is spiteful). And Portia prevails in court not by force of rhetoric, but by invoking a second, little-known law of Venice — one that effectively condemns Shylock as a traitor to the state. (The latter point is so crucial to the play, I’m sort of surprised Oman didn’t notice it.)

Shylock’s behavior grows increasingly irrational as the play progresses, possibly because of his anger over the elopement of his daughter Jessica (a situation which Antonio gladly aids and abets). The Jessica subplot, of course, is an elaboration of most of the antisemitic tropes in Elizabethan literature at the time; see Marlowe’s JEW OF MALTA for many, many more examples.

To be fair, directors who impose a contemporary agenda on Shakespeare generally don’t fare much better than Oman did.

]]> By: Steve http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43800 Steve Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:53:30 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43800 Excellent. Small misspelling in the last paragraph - you meant to say you "shudder." S Excellent. Small misspelling in the last paragraph – you meant to say you “shudder.”

S

]]> By: Daniel J. Solove http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43799 Daniel J. Solove Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:48:20 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43799 Terrific post! Terrific post!

]]> By: Lawrence Cunningham http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43798 Lawrence Cunningham Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:24:30 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43798 Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. (Great post.) Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.

(Great post.)

]]> By: Dave http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/03/the_bard_of_the.html/comment-page-1#comment-43797 Dave Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:29:40 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2009/03/the-bard-of-the-financial-crisis.html#comment-43797 Speechless. Speechless.

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