Shakespeare’s Great Tragedies Explained

Who could do a better job of explaining the structure of a complex play from the Elizabethan era than a home designer who also has a degree in literature from Columbia University? Bob Rumsey will lead participants/ readers in a course at the Taconic Learning Center on three Shakespeare plays: “Hamlet,” “Twelfth Night” and “King Lear.”

The class will be offered on Zoom by the Taconic Learning Center on Fridays beginning Sept. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. There will be eight sessions, ending Nov. 4.

Of the plays that he selected for the class, Rumsey says, “‘Hamlet’ and ‘King Lear’ have been called ‘the twin peaks of Shakespeare’s achievement in tragedy.’ Madness is central to both plays, in Hamlet’s case pretended, in Lear’s actual.

“In ‘Hamlet,’ the dramatic pressure is internal, in Hamlet’s response to his intolerable personal situation. In ‘King Lear,’ the pressure is more external and Lear responds to a world that is evil.

“For light relief, the tragedies will bookend ‘Twelfth Night,’ the most musical of all Shakespeare’s plays, in which the anti-hero Malvoglio, who is ‘sick of self-love,’ gets his comic comeuppance.”

Shakespeare plays are widely available at libraries, bookstores and online, but Rumsey will also put the text up on the Zoom screen.

Taconic Learning Center offers classes taught by area residents with special interests. This semester there are five classes; there is a set fee to join the program (the requested donation is $60) and then all classes are free. To register, go to https://taconiclearningcenter.org.

— Cynthia Hochswender

Latest News

Barbara Meyers DelPrete

LAKEVILLE — Barbara Meyers DelPrete, 84, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at her home. She was the beloved wife of George R. DelPrete for 62 years.

Mrs. DelPrete was born in Burlington, Iowa, on May 31, 1941, daughter of the late George and Judy Meyers. She lived in California for a time and had been a Lakeville resident for the past 55 years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti

SHARON — Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti, daughter of George and Mabel (Johnson) Wilbur, the first girl born into the Wilbur family in 65 years, passed away on Oct. 5, 2025, at Noble Horizons.

Shirley was born on Aug. 19, 1948 at Sharon Hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less
Veronica Lee Silvernale

MILLERTON — Veronica Lee “Ronnie” Silvernale, 78, a lifelong area resident died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. Mrs. Silvernale had a long career at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, where she served as a respected team leader in housekeeping and laundry services for over eighteen years. She retired in 2012.

Born Oct. 19, 1946, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she was the daughter of the late Bradley C. and Sophie (Debrew) Hosier, Sr. Following her graduation from high school and attending college, she married Jack Gerard Silvernale on June 15, 1983 in Millerton, New York. Their marriage lasted thirty-five years until Jack’s passing on July 28, 2018.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crescendo launches 22nd season
Christine Gevert, artistic director of Crescendo
Steve Potter

Christine Gevert, Crescendo’s artistic director, is delighted to announce the start of this musical organization’s 22nd year of operation. The group’s first concert of the season will feature Latin American early chamber music, performed Oct. 18 and 19, on indigenous Andean instruments as well as the virginal, flute, viola and percussion. Gevert will perform at the keyboard, joined by Chilean musicians Gonzalo Cortes and Carlos Boltes on wind and stringed instruments.

This concert, the first in a series of nine, will be held on Oct. 18 at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, and Oct. 19 at Trinity Church in Lakeville.

Keep ReadingShow less