The Romance of the Swan’s Nest, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Mary L. Gow - Illustration for The Romance of the Swan's Nest
Mary L. Gow – Illustration for The Romance of the Swan’s Nest – in Illustrated British Ballads, Old and New

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861), one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era, became widely popular in England and the United States during her lifetime, both for her poetry and her stands against slavery in the United States, injustice toward Italian citizens by foreign rulers, and child labour. From age 15 until her death, she had to battle with a lifelong illness.

Her first known poem, “On the Cruelty of Forcement to Man,” was written at the age of six or eight. She published her first collection of poems, An Essay on Mind, with Other Poems, in 1826. Her 1844 volume Poems made her one of the most popular writers in Britain at the time. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, the poet Robert Browning, shortly after her death. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

After Many Years, by Ernest Dowson

Post mortem photograph
Post mortem photograph – from VK

Here is a strange and beautiful poem about a dead child. The poet remembers lulling her to sleep several years ago, but now the coldness of her death seems unreal, so he wonders whether it is a dream or he is himself dead. The strangeness of the poem, with its doubts about the boundaries between reality and dream, between the living and the dead, is emphasised by the tortured indentation of its lines. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Madeline, par Jean-Michel Caradec

Madeline Caradec avec Fred Elian, cimetière de Recouvrance, 14 Avril 2012
Madeline Caradec avec Fred Elian, cimetière de Recouvrance, 14 Avril 2012 (détail) – provient de jeanmichelcaradec.com

Dans un article précédent, j’ai présenté la chanson « Ma petite fille de rêve » de Jean-Michel Caradec, qui a donné son titre à son deuxième album 33 tours, sorti en 1974, par lequel il connut le succès. Celui-ci comprend d’autres chansons consacrées à l’enfance, comme « La colline aux coralines ». CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Aubade, par Émile Blémont

Zinaida Serebriakova - Sleeping girl in the blue
Zinaida Serebriakova – Sleeping girl in the blue (Katyusha on a blanket) ( 1923) – provient de Pigtails in Paint

Voici mon troisième choix dans Les matins d’or et les nuits bleues, la première partie du recueil Les pommiers en fleur : idylles de France et de Normandie (1891). Le poète tente d’éveiller son aimée qui se complaît dans le sommeil, il la gronde comme une enfant. Il l’invite à l’accompagner dans les bois pour y célébrer leur amour. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Moonchild, by King Crimson

Christian Schloe
Christian Schloe – from tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com

The English progressive rock band King Crimson was formed in London in 1968. It has undergone numerous formations throughout its history, but its guitarist and founder Robert Fripp has remained its only constant member. Their debut studio album In the Court of the Crimson King (subtitled An Observation by King Crimson) was released on October 10, 1969. It is considered one of the first and most influential progressive rock albums ever released. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Au saut du lit, par Émile Blémont

Jules-Alexis Muenier - Retour du jardin
Jules-Alexis Muenier – Retour du jardin – provient de tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com

Dans Les matins d’or et les nuits bleues, la première partie du recueil Les pommiers en fleur : idylles de France et de Normandie d’Émile Blémont (1891), j’ai choisi ce beau poème, plein de tendresse, où l’auteur chante l’éveil et l’amour envers sa « petite inspiratrice », avec qui il veut être « comme Dante et Béatrice » et cueillir des fleurs qui ne se faneront jamais. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

Hilda Conkling’s dreams of love

Jeremy Lipking - Adrift
Jeremy Lipking – Adrift (2013) – from Art Renewal Center

LOVELINESS
by Hilda Conkling

LOVELINESS that dies when I forget
Comes alive when I remember.

In previous posts, I have presented two themes from Poems by a Little Girl (1920), Hilda Conkling’s first volume: dreams, often involving fairies and nature, then rose petals, which she associates with her heart, or with a dove representing love. In her second volume Shoes of the Wind (1922), the topics of dreams, roses and love become united within two beautiful poems, but here love becomes more personal. Indeed, Hilda was no more a little girl, she entered into puberty, so her fantasies and desires took a more womanly form. Also the style of her poetry matured, with a quasi-adult sophistication. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…