Another year has gone by, and the time has come once again to look back over the past twelve months to remember the best posts of the year.

10. Thursday Morning Riddle (Thursdays)

This is more of a category entry than a single post. But this was a particularly good year for the blog’s longest-running feature. Nine distinct solvers cracked the year’s 41 riddles. Independence Day and Halloween always fall on the same day of the year; this year it was Thursday, so we got two extra holiday-themed riddles in addition to the yearly Thanksgiving riddle. I was able to experiment with some intertextual riddles (here and here) as well as some unusual rhymes (here and here). This year also saw the 500th riddle on the website. Have I really written 500 riddles? Who am I?

9. Theatre: Titan Theatre Company’s Hamlet (April 7)

Calling this show “the best production of Hamlet I have ever seen” was no small compliment. And, indeed, my enthusiasm for Titan’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s flagship play led me to outline in some detail my experience in attending it. I shared the review with my friends who were in the play and I came to understand that it circulated among the cast. The next thing I know, Titan has linked to the review from their website and they’re using a pull quote from the review in their print promotional materials! I’ve been back to see a few more of their shows since then; I highly recommend checking them out.

8. Shakespeare Anagram: Hamlet (October 19)

This one makes the list for the anagram, not the essay. This is my favorite of the year. The short anagrams are the most difficult, and I really liked the way the letters came together to make a coherent sentence. The quote was well-known, and both the quote and anagram applied well to the essay subject. It was everything I look for in a good Shakespeare anagram, and I’m pleased to include it here on the year-end list.

7. Lessons from Shakespeare: The Duke of Buckingham (July 28)

It was meant to be a regular feature, and may yet be, but so far there is only one of them. The idea was to take a closer look at one aspect of a Shakespeare play and apply the lessons we learn from it to today. In the lone installment, we look at the Duke of Buckingham from Richard III, and ask ourselves if silence in the face of evil is the best path, even if it is only a survival strategy.

6. More Shakespeare! (January 13)

This was just a short announcement, but for something exciting to me. Last year, I launched a resource page for people doing Shakespeare reading groups. Originally, I had posted divisions for 16 plays. But over the winter break last year, I added 8 more, for a total of 24. If you’re here reading this, why not consider putting together your own reading group?

5. Another Open Letter to Donald Trump (September 28)

Wouldn’t it just be easier if he were to step down? I make the case. Spoiler alert: he didn’t.

4. NSFW: Shakespeare Pick-Up Lines (August 21)

I wrote these for a performance I was giving in a Shakespeare event at a local bar. The piece was a big hit with the Bard-savvy crowd, so I decided to publish it here. Enjoy!

3. Shakespeare Anagram: Henry VI, Part Three (July 6)

This one makes the list for the essay, not the anagram, though the anagram is pretty good, too. The essay is about the Trump administration’s family separation policy at the border. Of the many, many instances where this president has shown himself unfit, this may be the absolute worst. And it’s still going on.

2. Grateful (July 4)

Last July 4, I wrote a poem about America, which in 2018 was mostly about retaining the ability to love our country while the president is so awful. This year, I focused my verse on his supporters. I may have lost a few people with this poem, but I guess I lost them a long time ago.

1. Shakespeare Memes (April 23)

For Shakespeare’s birthday this year, I repurposed 15 popular memes and made them about Shakespeare. From “Distracted Boyfriend” to “American Chopper Argument,” there’s something for everyone in here. After all, one does not simply celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday!