Looking back, I see that I wrote the following two critiques in 2014. Empress Elisabeth of Austria is a historical figure I very much enjoy reading (and writing) about and, indeed, since penning these articles, I have read a few other works in which she features, regrettably not all as good as Brigitte Hamann's biography. …
Category: poetry
The Millennium Bug
I was going through my folders the other day with a view to trashing really old files when I came across this poem. It's just something I wrote on the eve of the new millennium 17 years ago. Of course, it's rather out of date now but as I had a lot of fun writing …
Fun With (German) Grammar
Christian Morgenstern - - taking the "P" out of poetry * Now for something totally different! A little while ago, on a visit to Germany, a friend introduced me to a poet whose work seems to defy attempts to translate it into English. His name was Christian Morgenstern (the poet, not the friend) and he …
The Tale of Sakuntala
Sakuntala by Kalidasa (c. 400 CE, trans. Michael Coulson 1981) * Sakuntala by Abanindranath Tagore (1895, trans.William Radice 1992) * The story of Sakuntala and King Dushyanta (variously Dushmanta or Duhshanta) is an ancient tale, its origins going back thousands of years to the myths of India. The first known written version appears in a …
Another Tale of Love and Death
Continuing the German theme of a day or two ago, I decided to feature another work that I like - literally a tale of love and death, or to give it its proper title, The Song of the Love and Death of Standard Bearer Christoph Rilke - Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets …
Hawks and Horses
Some glory in their birth, some in their skill, Some in their wealth, some in their body's force, Some in their garments, though new-fangled ill; Some in their hawks and hounds, some in their horse; And every humour hath his adjunct pleasure, Wherein it finds a joy above the rest: But these particulars are not …
