As the 7 other sonnets in this series, this one was probably written around 1885. Again it tells us that only a little girl can relieve the poet’s heart from bitterness and sorrow. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
My third selection from the collection Long Ago is a sapphic poem. Young girls make offerings to the poetess, who wonders what to give them in return. She will “sing of their soft cherishing” and “of marriage-loves;” the highest praises would crown them, as the rose “is not so good, so fresh as they,” “opening their glorious, candid maidenhood.” CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
In 1886 Ashby-Sterry published a second collection of verses, The Lazy Minstrel. It included in a slightly modified form several poems from Boudoir Ballads. I have chosen in it an original poem about an unruly little girl who truly behaves like a savage tomboy, now “good as gold,” then “pert and bold,” “naughty but best of girls,” he loves her as she is. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Ernest Christopher Dowson was born on August 2, 1867 in Lee (now part of Lewisham), in the Kent region of the UK. Throughout his life he suffered from poor health, and he died from tuberculosis and neglect on February 23, 1900, aged 32. He was buried in Ladywell Cemetary. Here is an old picture of his grave, scanned from The Letters of Ernest Dowson (Desmond Flower & Henry Maas, editors): CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
I present here my second selection from the collection Long Ago published in 1889 by Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper under the pen name Michael Field. Addressed to a young man, the poem praises his future bride, a most lovely girl, there could not be a better choice. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Another poem of Francis Thompson published posthumously. Addressed to Monica Meynell, it alludes to an earlier poem dedicated to her, “The Poppy,” which was probably written in 1891 when the girl was 11 years old. Hence this one can be dated around 1900, written for a 20 years old Monica. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
As I have explained before, Ashby-Sterry loved girls of various ages, but his preference went to 16-year-old ones, while he often called younger ones ‘pet.’
I present here one of the most beautiful poems from Boudoir Ballads. He calls the girl ‘pet’ twice, so she must be very young. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
Ernest Dowson wrote around 1885 a series of 7 “Sonnets of a Little Girl,” followed by an 8th called “Epilogue.” In his lifetime, only two were published: the 4th in November 1886 and a modified version of the 8th in November 1896; the latter with the title “A Last Word” is the last poem in verse in his final collection Decorations: in Verse and Prose(1899). CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
This well-known poem appeared in Thompson’s first volume Poems in 1893. It is dedicated to Monica, the eldest of the four Meynell daughters. It was probably written in 1891 when she was 11 years old. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
The poet gives his farewell to a lively girl aged ten. Why does she need to grow, why can’t she remain a child? He will never forget her as she looks now. But she will grow into a lovely teenager. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…
