Welcome to my new blog
TELLING HOME TRUTHS!
RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER: PART 7 This Hermit good lives in that wood Which slopes down to the sea. How loudly his sweet voice he rears! He loves to talk with marineres That come from a far countree. He kneels at morn, and noon, and eve- He hath a cushion plump: It is the … Continue reading TELLING HOME TRUTHS!
“ON THE FARM”: R.S.THOMAS -NATURE AND REDEMPTION.
On the Farm There was Dai Puw. He was no good. They put him in the fields to dock swedes, And took the knife from him, when he came home At late evening with a grin Like the slash of a knife on his face. There was Llew Puw, and he was no good. Every … Continue reading “ON THE FARM”: R.S.THOMAS -NATURE AND REDEMPTION.
” CAN SOCIALISTS BE HAPPY?”: WHY DOES UTOPIA NOT WORK?
I have just been reading Orwell’s essay entitled “Can Socialists Be Happy”?” it sounds a challenging title, particularly from a writer of the Left who fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s. Interestingly Orwelll was encouraged to ask the question by comparing the writings of Charles Dickens with a … Continue reading ” CAN SOCIALISTS BE HAPPY?”: WHY DOES UTOPIA NOT WORK?
GEORGE ORWELL: ON WRITING GOOD ENGLISH.
All aspiring writers can learn from Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language” on writing good English as opposed to bad. Written in 1945 it remains an essay that is very much up-to date. Although the title suggests a political aspect to the discussion this is limited and does not affect the essay’s relevance. It … Continue reading GEORGE ORWELL: ON WRITING GOOD ENGLISH.
“COMPUTERS CAN WRITE POETRY”: “YES THEY CAN”; “NO THEY CAN’T”.
THis is how the powerful critic F.R. Leavis described the possibility back in 1970 in his essay ““Literarism” versus “scientism”“. I was, I confess, a little amused when, sitting at a formal lunch next to the director of a City Art Gallery, I was told by him, in the tone of saying something very impressive: … Continue reading “COMPUTERS CAN WRITE POETRY”: “YES THEY CAN”; “NO THEY CAN’T”.
FROM TOWER OF BABEL TO PENTECOST
And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language;and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the … Continue reading FROM TOWER OF BABEL TO PENTECOST
RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER: PART VI
FIRST VOICE “But tell me,tell me! speak again, Thy soft response renewing- What makes that ship drive on so fast? What is the ocean doing?” SECOND VOICE Still as slave before his lord, The ocean hath no blast; His great bright eye most silently Up to the moon is cast- If he may know which … Continue reading RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER: PART VI
WILLIAM BLAKE : “JESUS WAS AN ARTIST”
Verily , verily I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the earth and die it abideth alone: but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit.” GoSPEL OF ST. JOHN 12.24 Curiously, although brought up on the Bible, I never noticed this saying until I read Dostoevsky’s great novel The Brothers … Continue reading WILLIAM BLAKE : “JESUS WAS AN ARTIST”
“GETTING YOUR RHYTHM RIGHT”
True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those move easiest who have learned to dance, ‘Tis not enough no harshness gives offence, The sound must seem an echo of the sense; Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows; But when loud surges lash … Continue reading “GETTING YOUR RHYTHM RIGHT”
WHAT KIND OF READER ARE YOU?
Quotation from Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Readers may be divided into four classes: 1. Sponges, who absorb all they read, and return it nearly in the same state, only a little dirtied. 2. Sand- glasses who retain nothing and are content to get through a book for getting through the time 3. Strain-bags, who retain merely … Continue reading WHAT KIND OF READER ARE YOU?
WORDS TO RE-CHARGE 1: “COMFORT YE , COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE”.
When words are allowed to weaken, they may need to be re-charged. After all language, as well as being out there, is within. When a valuable word becomes softened something is diminished within us: a meaning that might be precious. Take the word ““comfort” or its cognate “comfortable”. We say to “live in comfort” and … Continue reading WORDS TO RE-CHARGE 1: “COMFORT YE , COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE”.
“APRIL IS THE CRUELEST MONTH”: TWO POETS, TWO MEN, TWO AGES
April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain, Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbargersee With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, And … Continue reading “APRIL IS THE CRUELEST MONTH”: TWO POETS, TWO MEN, TWO AGES
RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER: PART 5. COLERIDGE’S MYTHOLOGY.
O sleep ! it is a gentle thing. Beloved from pole to pole! To Mary Queen the praise be given! She sent the gentle sleep from Heaven That slid into my soul. The silly buckets on the deck, That had so long remained, I dreamt that they were filled with dew; And when I awoke, … Continue reading RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER: PART 5. COLERIDGE’S MYTHOLOGY.
CONSTITUTIONAL REFLECTIONS
Life in the United Kingdom has struck the pause button since it was announced on Friday that the death had taken place of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, married to the Queen for seventy four years. A period of national mourning for eight days has been announced. The existence of the monarchy gives nations the … Continue reading CONSTITUTIONAL REFLECTIONS
THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS
St Luke 24. 13-35( KJV 1611) And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, … Continue reading THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS
“NOW THE GREEN BLADE RISETH”
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth alone: but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. St John 12. 24. Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain, Wheat that in dark earth many days has lain; Love lives again, that … Continue reading “NOW THE GREEN BLADE RISETH”
“MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?”
Gethsemane presents a new situation. Before this Jesus would retire from the multitudes, and also from his disciples to be apart. He sought out solitude to be with God. Three times in the first chapter of Mark’s gospel he seeks to be in solitary places with the God he calls Father. Gethsemane, however, for the … Continue reading “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?”
EASTER POEMS
The Crucifixion “String him up,” some repoman shouted, (repossessor) He’s a weirdo” “In the bin, in the bin”, Yelled another and grabbed some thorns, Sharp as needles, twisting them round A fresh-cut-thorn branch. He made A wreath and forced it down on his head, The pain piercing his flesh. “Morning vicar”, This comedian said and … Continue reading EASTER POEMS
FOR PALM SUNDAY : THE DONKEY
The Donkey When fishes flew and forests walked And figs grew upon thorns, Some moment when the moon was blood Then surely I was born. With monstrous head and sickening cry And ears like errant wings, The devil’s walking parody On all four-footed things. The tattered outlaw of the earth Of ancient crooked will, Starve, … Continue reading FOR PALM SUNDAY : THE DONKEY
THE LANGUAGE OF THE SUN AND MOON : DRAWING ON BOEHME.
You may have noticed in our readings of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” how the sun and moon are significant presences in the poem. Coleridge thought deeply on the subject of symbols and symbolic language. He saw Nature as reflecting the language of God the Creator and he also conceived that the poetic imagination, … Continue reading THE LANGUAGE OF THE SUN AND MOON : DRAWING ON BOEHME.
RIME OF ANCIENT MARINER: PART 4 COLERIDGE, ADDICTION, RELEASE.
PART 4 “I fear thee ancient Mariner! I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long,and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand. I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown.”- Fear not, fear not thou Wedding-Guest! This body dropt not down. Alone, alone, all,all alone, Alone on a … Continue reading RIME OF ANCIENT MARINER: PART 4 COLERIDGE, ADDICTION, RELEASE.
“WIST YE NOT…”
Language is not natural but a young child’s love of language, of words, of rhymes, of rhythms seems to be part of who they are, as essential to their development as learning to eat, to walk, or to explore. They absorb the words spoken to them and seek to repeat those words. They are taught … Continue reading “WIST YE NOT…”
FURTHER THOUGHTS ON PART 3
Coleridge in his young twenties was an active supporter of the anti-slavery movement. Editing a radical newsletter, The Watchman, which argued for anti- slavery legislation and other causes raised by the French Revolution he would go round Bristol Harbour talking to ships’ captains and their crews about their experiences of the slave trade as well … Continue reading FURTHER THOUGHTS ON PART 3
THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER PART 3
( This is the third part of the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. New readers may wish first to read the earlier blog posts introducing the poem and then on the first two parts. Alternatively you might wish to plunge into this section of the poem). PART 3 There passed a weary time. Each throat … Continue reading THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER PART 3
“SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD”: COLLECT FOR SECOND SUNDAY LENT
Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ … Continue reading “SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD”: COLLECT FOR SECOND SUNDAY LENT
SIXTY NOT OUT!
Dear Readers, Sixty not out refers to the number of blogs you can access by scrolling down the blog page. Before this the cut-off point was around thirty. I have found out how to adjust this (it takes me time to learn these things!) so you can now go back to my first steps at … Continue reading SIXTY NOT OUT!
“ALL OUR DOINGS WITHOUT CHARITY ARE NOTHING WORTH”
O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth: Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee: Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s … Continue reading “ALL OUR DOINGS WITHOUT CHARITY ARE NOTHING WORTH”
A POEM FOR ST. VALENTINE’S DAY: “TIME WAS AWAY AND SOMEWHERE ELSE”
THE MEETING-POINT Time was away and somewhere else, There were two glasses and two chairs And two people with the one pulse (Somebody stopped the moving stairs): Time was away and somewhere else. And they were neither up nor down; The stream’s music did not stop Flowing through heather limpid brown Although they sat in … Continue reading A POEM FOR ST. VALENTINE’S DAY: “TIME WAS AWAY AND SOMEWHERE ELSE”
“WHERE HAS THE LANGUAGE GONE?”: A CONVERSATION.
Questioner: Excuse me, I am looking for language. Where can I find it? Answerer:”I’m not sure what you mean. You are using language. Q: Yes but where is the centre of the language I am using ? A: Ah get a good dictionary. The Oxford one has a good reputation.! Q: Yes, I have seen … Continue reading “WHERE HAS THE LANGUAGE GONE?”: A CONVERSATION.
NICOLA BENEDETTI: MUSIC AND FAITH.
Nicola Benedetti , the violin virtuoso, and passionate advocate of music in education, has thought very interestingly about the ways in which the love of music and the development of faith act upon us. In an interview with Vikas S. Shah in “Thought Economics” she is reported in The Times to have said in relation … Continue reading NICOLA BENEDETTI: MUSIC AND FAITH.
“CHAUCER AT LEICESTER; NOT!”
For a variety of reasons I won’t go into, I did not do Latin at my grammar school. People would say when they knew “What relevance today is Latin anyway, a dead language!”. Some would retort, “It is useful for medicine”-or whatever. Now I am deeply sorry I did not do Latin at school. It … Continue reading “CHAUCER AT LEICESTER; NOT!”
BURNS’ SEASON: TO A MOUSE
To A Mouse. On turning her up in her Nest with the Plough November 1785 Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie, O, what a panic’s in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty Wi’ bickering brattle! (hasty scurrying) I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee, (loath) Wi’ murdering pattle! (a wooden plough-scraper) … Continue reading BURNS’ SEASON: TO A MOUSE
BURNS’ SEASON: “The Rigs o’ Barley”
It was upon a Lammas night, (harvest festival) When corn-rigs are bonie, Beneath the moon’s unclouded light, I held awa’to Annie; The time flew by, wi’ tentless heed (carefree) Till tween the late annd early, Wi’ sma’ persuasion she agreed To see me through the barley. Chorus Corn rigs, an’ barley rigs, An’ corn rigs … Continue reading BURNS’ SEASON: “The Rigs o’ Barley”
BURNS’ SEASON : “Ye Banks and Braes”
Ye banks and braes o’ bonie Doon, How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair; How can ye chant, ye little birds, And I sae weary fu’ o’ care! Thou’ll break my heart thou warbling bird, That wantons thro’ the flowering thorn: Thou minds me o’ departed joys, Departed never to return. Aft hae I … Continue reading BURNS’ SEASON : “Ye Banks and Braes”
A RED, RED ROSE.
O my Luve’s like a red , red rose That’s newly sprung in June O my Luve’s like the melodie That’s sweetly played in tune. As fair art thou, my bonie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will luve thee still, my Dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry. Till a’ the … Continue reading A RED, RED ROSE.
A ROBERT BURNS POEM FOR BURNS’ DAY: “TO A LOUSE”
To A Louse On Seeing One on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church. Ye ugly,creepan,blastit wonner (wonder) Detested,shunn’d by saunt an’sinner, (saint) How daur ye set your fit upon her- (dare, foot) Sae fine a Lady! (So) Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner (Go) On some poor body. Swith, in some beggar’s haffet squattle: (Away!hair,squat) … Continue reading A ROBERT BURNS POEM FOR BURNS’ DAY: “TO A LOUSE”
“ONLY A MAN HARROWING CLODS”
IN TIME OF THE BREAKING OF NATIONS Only a man harrowing clods In a slow silent walk With an old horse that stumbles and nods Half-asleep as they stalk. Only thin smoke without flame From the heaps of couch-grass; Yet they will go onward the same Though Dynasties pass. Yonder a maid and her wight … Continue reading “ONLY A MAN HARROWING CLODS”
CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN : ORIGINS OF FOLK-SONG AND DANCE.
Recently we looked at Christmas carols and wassailing songs and their early development from Medieval times. I drew attention to a wassailing song featured on the Waterson’s album “Frost and Fire”(first released 1965) which has a variety of songs associated with different seasons and rituals of the rural year. This album has very interesting notes … Continue reading CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN : ORIGINS OF FOLK-SONG AND DANCE.
NEW YEAR: LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD.
As we move from one year to another I wish all followers and occasional readers a happy New Year, secure from the worst that might assail us. I wish to thank you also for your support, as readers from around the world from a variety of cultures. I am delighted you have found in this … Continue reading NEW YEAR: LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD.
JOURNEY OF THE MAGI
(READERS PLEASE NOTE: This blog post with minor revisions is being re-published because of problems with website design issues. I apologise to followers who will receive the same post a second time.) Today is the sixth of January, Epiphany, recognised by Christians as the day of the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles. It is … Continue reading JOURNEY OF THE MAGI
QUOTATIONS FOR REFLECTION
In our age when technology is gaining control over life, when material- well being is considered the most important goal, when the influence of religions have been weakened everywhere in the world, a special responsibility lies upon the writer.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn “If a nation’s literature declines, the nation atrophies and decays.” Ezra Pound
A NEW YEAR WASSAILING SONG.
Here is a wassailing song celebrating the New Year. As mentioned in a previous post “Christmas Carols” wassailing was a way of roisterous singing by groups touring the neighbourhood- including the big House- seeking to exchange their music for gifts of mead or beer. The word “wassailing” goes back to Old and Middle English using … Continue reading A NEW YEAR WASSAILING SONG.
A POEM TO WELCOME THE NEW YEAR.
In Scotland this evening, the 31st of December is called Hogmanay. Usually it is a time of celebration, of gleeful gathering and communal hope. All that this year, however, is not to be. There will be no social revelry, no communality, no first footing of friends and neighbours. For, despite welcome and hopeful news of … Continue reading A POEM TO WELCOME THE NEW YEAR.
THE HOLLY AND THE IVY
One of my favourite carols is “The Holly and the Ivy” an old carol which developed in the Christian Middle ages from medieval roots. The holly and the ivy When they are both full grown Of all the trees that are in the wood The holly bears the crown. [Chorus] O the rising of the … Continue reading THE HOLLY AND THE IVY
CHRISTMAS CAROLS
What would Christmas be without Christmas carols? There is an astonishing range of these. The exquisite, purely religious ones you will hear, for example, on formal occasions, which so many churches celebrate, like Nine Lessons and Carols. There are the favourites you sing lustily out carol singing as you go round doors in cheery groups … Continue reading CHRISTMAS CAROLS
“THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER” PART 2
The Sun now rose upon the right: Out of the sea came he, still hid in mist, and on the left Went down into the sea, And the good south wind still blew behind, But no sweet bird did follow, Nor any day for food or play Came to the mariners’ hollo. And I had … Continue reading “THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER” PART 2
THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER PART 1
ARGUMENT How a Ship having passed the Line was driven by storms to the Cold country towards the South Pole; and how from thence she made her course to the tropical Latitude of the Great Pacific Ocean; and of the strange things that befell; and in what manner the Ancyent Marinere came back to his … Continue reading THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER PART 1
INTRODUCING “THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER”.
ARGUMENTHow a Ship having passed the Line was driven by storms to the cold Country towards the South Pole; and how from thence she made her course to the tropical Latitude of the Great Pacific Ocean; and of the strange things that befell; and in what manner the Ancyent Marinere came back to his own … Continue reading INTRODUCING “THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER”.
IMAGINING AN UP-TO-DATE PLATO’S CAVE.
I made the claim a few week’s ago that Plato’s cave, along with the Tower of Babel, are two ancient stories that help to tell us where we are in the modern world. (I also included Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” but it is hardly ancient.) What is the state of modern knowledge? … Continue reading IMAGINING AN UP-TO-DATE PLATO’S CAVE.
“THE EYE IS THE LAMP OF THE BODY”: PLATO AND JESUS ON TRUE SEEING.
Both Plato and Jesus demonstrate the need to see clearly. Following the last post on Plato’s Cave here is a poem based on one of the miracles of Jesus. THE SIGHTING John 9 Out of the shame of spittle, by the scratch of dirt, he made an annointing. Oh, it was an agony- the gravel … Continue reading “THE EYE IS THE LAMP OF THE BODY”: PLATO AND JESUS ON TRUE SEEING.
“THE TOWER OF BABEL: AN UP-TO-DATE VERSION”
And the most powerful rulers on earth gathered together and said: let us now speak one language. For now that we know the laws of Science and the power of Technology we shall defer to neither God nor Nature. And we shall make the poor peoples of the world give up their traditional agriculture and … Continue reading “THE TOWER OF BABEL: AN UP-TO-DATE VERSION”
GUEST POST: “THE TOWER OF BABEL” (2)
BY RAY INKSTER Genesis 11 begins with the story of the Tower of Babel-but why on earth was it include in the sacred text? In the first eleven chapters of Genesis we are in the realm of myth, which is the expression of the truth in story form. the book itself reached its more or … Continue reading GUEST POST: “THE TOWER OF BABEL” (2)
THE TOWER OF BABEL
I here use the King James ( or Authorised) version of the story: “And the whole earth was of one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said to one another, … Continue reading THE TOWER OF BABEL
OLD STORIES THAT TELL US WHERE WE ARE NOW
Myths are not factual but they incorporate profound truths. The Biblical myth of the Tower of Babel speaks of the usurpation by Man of the place of God, claiming power which he is unable to maintain, leading to disintegration. Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, devised what might be called a myth-the myth of the cave-though, … Continue reading OLD STORIES THAT TELL US WHERE WE ARE NOW
THE EOLIAN HARP
This is one of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s early conversation poems, first written in 1795. The address is to his young married wife, Sarah. The Eolian Harp (or Aeolian, from Aeolus the Greek god of wind) was devised as an outdoor wind instrument played into sound by currents of air. The sounds enable the poet to … Continue reading THE EOLIAN HARP
CORRESPONDENCE : ON ADAM NAMING THE ANIMALS
NOTE: Correspondence is welcome and may be published. Please follow CONTACT details. The letter below is on the post before last. If the last post on the KINDNESS OF STRANGERS suggests any examples-personal or historical-that you would like to communicate please get in touch. Hello Alan, Another interesting blog, much of which I have no … Continue reading CORRESPONDENCE : ON ADAM NAMING THE ANIMALS
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
This is a story of the childhood of great poet S. T. Coleridge. His father died when he was nine and the young boy was sent to board at the charity school of Christ’s Hopital. A compulsive reader he would read works from the school library: “my whole being was with eyes closed to every … Continue reading THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
WHY DOES GOD GET ADAM TO NAME THE ANIMALS?
If you are a regular reader of this blog post you will be aware that recently I have become fascinated by a Coleridge quotation linking God’s boundless creative imagination, the great I AM, sustaining creation and therefore sustaining us in consciousness and our own urge to be imaginatively creative (see God Said”Let Newton Be!”). This … Continue reading WHY DOES GOD GET ADAM TO NAME THE ANIMALS?
WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU GOD DOES NOT EXIST QUESTION IF HE MEANS GOD OR DOES HE REALLY MEAN THE DEMIURGE?
Suddenly God-or the demiurge- has entered the conversation! The exciting thing about running this blog-post is I have ideas as to where I might like to take them but nothing is pre-determined. It is all a rather exciting journey. I did somewhere early on promise an evolving series. If we have evolved towards God that … Continue reading WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU GOD DOES NOT EXIST QUESTION IF HE MEANS GOD OR DOES HE REALLY MEAN THE DEMIURGE?
“THE BODY OF GOD”
Here are two further “Last Poems” of D. H. Lawrence on the subject of the demiurge: DEMIURGE They say that reality exists only in the spirit that corporal existence is a kind of death that pure being is bodiless that the idea of form precedes the form substantial. But what nonsense it is! as if … Continue reading “THE BODY OF GOD”
THE IMAGINATION OF GOD
Shortly before D. H. Lawrence died his medical specialist stated, “an ordinary man with those lungs would have died long ago; but with a real artist no normal prognosis is ever sure; there are other forces involved”. (D. H Lawrence Penguin Critical Anthologies ed. H. Coombes 1973). His friend, Aldous Huxley, writes of him: “He … Continue reading THE IMAGINATION OF GOD
CORRESPONDENCE : ON “GOD SAID ” LET NEWTON BE.”
Replies to my blog-posts are very welcome. The following written is a very thoughtful and well-argued response to my most recent post. I add a reply. Further contributions are welcome. “Thanks, Alan, for a well written and argued piece, ably outlining the development of an important process of enquiry and understanding in the realms of … Continue reading CORRESPONDENCE : ON “GOD SAID ” LET NEWTON BE.”
God said “Let Newton be, then there was Light”
KEEPING FAITH IN THE CREATIVE SPIRIT. Genesis begins ” In the beginning God created heaven and earth. And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the waters. And God said, Let there be light. In that very confident age … Continue reading God said “Let Newton be, then there was Light”
THE MAKING OF “GENIUS”.
LOOKING AT THE WORD “ROMANTIC (3) So great a genius was Shakespeare that the very word “genius” had to be adapted in meaning to account for him. That is quite a fact so please read the first sentence again to make sure you have taken it in! For earlier meanings I refer again to our … Continue reading THE MAKING OF “GENIUS”.
“Enjambment! Or would You Prefer the French Version, Sir?”
Is there a word the sound of which-whether uttered correctly or incorrectly -makes you wince? In French -for me, “enjambement” is not like that. It is rather such a sweet sounding, elegant intonation. I love to hear it pronounced by a good French speaker. And I , in turn, attempted, in my rudimentary French to … Continue reading “Enjambment! Or would You Prefer the French Version, Sir?”
GUEST POST: A WELCOME RETURN TO THE SONGWRITER WHO CONTAINS MULTITUDES.
A Review of Bob Dylan’s Album “Rough and Rowdy Ways” by Duncan C. Eddie. Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. There was considerable debate and discussion around whether he ought to have received such an esteemed award. Is he not primarily a songwriter and musician? Singer Patti Smith went on … Continue reading GUEST POST: A WELCOME RETURN TO THE SONGWRITER WHO CONTAINS MULTITUDES.
“THERE WAS A BOY”
This poem was initially written as a separate one and then was later incorporated in “The Prelude” (Book5), the long autobiographical poem in twelve books, which Wordsworth subtitled “Growth of a Poet’s Mind” The work in these early books, as in this poem here, follows Wordsworth’s early development and his boyhood love of Nature in … Continue reading “THERE WAS A BOY”
LOOKING AT THE WORD “ROMANTIC” (2)
Words can be presences that inspire and encourage us forward; words can act like a pillory holding you down, keeping you confined. Great poets recreate the language, making it new. That was what Wordsworth and the great Romantics did. But the language was ready for them to act on it. As Logan Pearsall Smith (see … Continue reading LOOKING AT THE WORD “ROMANTIC” (2)
MARY SHELLEY’S “FRANKENSTEIN”: THE CREATION MYTH DEVELOPED BY CULTURAL MARXISM.
Between the eighties and nineties I was not much involved with academic life. When I returned to teach Open University students a course on “Approaches to Literature” I was surprised to discover that a novel I had thought to be on the periphery of literary focus had become a central part of the curriculum. Earlier, … Continue reading MARY SHELLEY’S “FRANKENSTEIN”: THE CREATION MYTH DEVELOPED BY CULTURAL MARXISM.
“WHAT IS IT TO BE A ROMANTIC?”: PHILOSOPHICALLY SPEAKING?
We have been looking at Romanticism in general and some aspects of pre-romanticism ( the picturesque, the sublime etc) and the history of “romantic” as a word. We shall be looking at various examples of Romantic poetry and prose and asking questions as to its continuing influence on us today. But here is another angle: … Continue reading “WHAT IS IT TO BE A ROMANTIC?”: PHILOSOPHICALLY SPEAKING?
FILMING THE ALPS IN WORDS: FRANKENSTEIN
FROM PICTURESQUE TO SUBLIME: MARY SHELLEY “The next day we pursued our journey upon mules; and as we ascended still higher, the valley assumed a more magnificent and astonishing character; and as we ascended still higher, the valley assumed a more magnificent and astonishing character. Ruined castles hanging on precipices of piny mountains; the impetuous … Continue reading FILMING THE ALPS IN WORDS: FRANKENSTEIN
“HIM WHO FIRST DESCRIBED WHAT PICTURESQUE BEAUTY WAS”: JANE AUSTEN AND WILLIAM GILPIN (2)
Marianne’s sensitivity to the beauty of the landscape (see post “Jane Austen and the Picturesque”) shows her feeling for the picturesque, a pre-Romantic era concept, that developed in popularity through the eighteenth century. That it is a fashionable tendency is due largely to the work of William Gilpin(1724-1804). Gilpin distinguishes picturesque beauty from natural beauty … Continue reading “HIM WHO FIRST DESCRIBED WHAT PICTURESQUE BEAUTY WAS”: JANE AUSTEN AND WILLIAM GILPIN (2)
THE PRODIGAL SON AND JACOB AND ESAU
Both stories present characters whose repentance is expressed as fear they will be given their just desserts, both form prudent schemes for escaping censure, both demonstrate a surprising reception expressing generous love
WHILST BROWSING: A NOTE ON DOSTOEVSKY’S DEMONS
“In the nineteenth century Russia under the influence of their progressive parents, a generation of educated young people was convinced of the illegitimacy of the Tsarist regime. Dostoevsky’s “Demons” (1871) is a vivid chronicle of the tragic and farcical process by which progressive liberals discredited traditional institutions and unleashed a wave of revolutionary terror. Not … Continue reading WHILST BROWSING: A NOTE ON DOSTOEVSKY’S DEMONS
ON THE PICTURESQUE: JANE AUSTEN
From Sense and Sensibility “Edward returned to them with fresh admiration of the surrounding country; in his walk to the village, he had seen many parts of the valley to advantage; and the village itself, in a much higher situation than the cottage, afforded a general view of the whole, which had exceedingly pleased him. … Continue reading ON THE PICTURESQUE: JANE AUSTEN
POPPIES
I love the time of year-mid May- when poppies first appear in our garden. I remember them so often as I passed them in fields scattered among the wheat on the road between North Berwick and Edinburgh. Here is a poem on poppies. Poppies You are not simple indiscretions at a summer fete shunned by … Continue reading POPPIES
LOOKING AT THE WORD “ROMANTIC”(1)
You all know the word “romantic” and it arouses all kinds of expectations. It is that kind of word. But where did it come from and how did it develop? It is an interesting story. In the last blog while I used the word ” Romantic” I was very conscious how complex a word it … Continue reading LOOKING AT THE WORD “ROMANTIC”(1)
MAKING THE NOVEL ROMANTIC
From Charlotte Bronte responding to G. H. Lewes (respected Victorian critic to become George Eliot’s partner) who had recommended her to read Jane Austen. I got the book (ie. Pride and Prejudice) and studied it. What did I find? An accurate daguerrotyped portrait of a commonplace face; a carefully fenced garden with neat borders and … Continue reading MAKING THE NOVEL ROMANTIC
SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
The great medieval English poem was discussed on Melvyn Bragg’s “In Our Time” with guests, including Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate and recent translator of the work . (Check the BBC Radio 4 website if you wish to listen to the programme) The development of the strands of English into the language we know, is … Continue reading SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
CATHERINE OF “WUTHERING HEIGHTS”
“I cannot express it; but surely you and everybody have a notion that there is, or should be, an existence of you beyond you. What were the use of my creation if I were entirely contained here? My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff’s miseries, and I watched and felt each from the … Continue reading CATHERINE OF “WUTHERING HEIGHTS”
SPIRIT OF PLACE
On the morning of a fine June day, my first bonny nursling, and the last of the ancient Earnshaw stock, was born. We were busy with the hay in a far away field, when the girl that usually brought our breakfasts came running an hour too soon, across the meadow and up the lane, calling … Continue reading SPIRIT OF PLACE
INTRODUCING WUTHERING HEIGHTS
What kind of novel is Wuthering Heights? I ask because the novel blends so many different possibilities within its composite whole. It is a passionate love story of a never consummated relationship that dominates the whole story-even though the heroine dies well before the end and consummation is sought by her lover after death ; … Continue reading INTRODUCING WUTHERING HEIGHTS
RESURRECTION POEMS AND STORIES FOR LOCKDOWN
I began this blogging web site, discussing novels, poems, stories etc., as a way or doing something purposeful through Lockdown. Being around Easter when I started, this is my first theme. I have chosen a series of poems as well as the Journey to Emmaus story from the gospel of St. Luke. Following each there … Continue reading RESURRECTION POEMS AND STORIES FOR LOCKDOWN
RESURRECTION
MARINA Quis hic locus,quae regio,quaemundi plaga What seas what shores what grey rocks and what islands What water lapping the bow And scent of pine and the woodthrush singing through the fog What images return O my daughter. Those who sharpen the tooth of the dog, meaning Death Those who glitter with the glory of … Continue reading RESURRECTION
THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS
St Luke 24. 13-35( KJV 1611) And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, … Continue reading THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS
GOOD FRIDAY
“The wounded surgeon plies the steel That questions the distempered part; Beneath the bleeding hands we feel The sharp compassion of the healer’s art Resolving the enigma of the fever chart. Our only health is the disease If we obey the dying nurse Whose constant care is not to please But to remind of our … Continue reading GOOD FRIDAY
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