Month: October 2025
The Romantics
- Article by: Stephanie Forward
- Theme: Romanticism
Dr Stephanie Forward explains the key ideas and influences of Romanticism, and considers their place in the work of writers including Wordsworth, Blake, P B Shelley and Keats.
Today the word ‘romantic’ evokes images of love and sentimentality, but the term ‘Romanticism’ has a much wider meaning. It covers a range of developments in art, literature, music and philosophy, spanning the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The ‘Romantics’ would not have used the term themselves: the label was applied retrospectively, from around the middle of the 19th century.In 1762 Jean-Jacques Rousseau declared in The Social Contract: ‘Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.’ During the Romantic period major transitions took place in society, as dissatisfied intellectuals and artists challenged the Establishment. In England, the Romantic poets were at the very heart of this movement. They were inspired by a desire for liberty, and they denounced the exploitation of the poor. There was an emphasis on the importance of the individual; a conviction that people should follow ideals rather than imposed conventions and rules. The Romantics renounced the rationalism and order associated with the preceding Enlightenment era, stressing the importance of expressing authentic personal feelings. They had a real sense of responsibility to their fellow men: they felt it was their duty to use their poetry to inform and inspire others, and to change society.
Revolution
When reference is made to Romantic verse, the poets who generally spring to mind areWilliam Blake (1757-1827), William Wordsworth (1770-1850), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), George Gordon, 6th Lord Byron (1788-1824), Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) andJohn Keats (1795-1821). These writers had an intuitive feeling that they were ‘chosen’ to guide others through the tempestuous period of change.This was a time of physical confrontation; of violent rebellion in parts of Europe and the New World. Conscious of anarchy across the English Channel, the British government feared similar outbreaks. The early Romantic poets tended to be supporters of the French Revolution, hoping that it would bring about political change; however, the bloody Reign of Terror shocked them profoundly and affected their views. In his youth William Wordsworth was drawn to the Republican cause in France, until he gradually became disenchanted with the Revolutionaries.
Painting of the storming of the Bastille, 1789
Depiction of the storming of the Bastille, Paris – the event that triggered the French Revolution.
Copyright: © De Agostini Picture Library
The imagination
The Romantics were not in agreement about everything they said and did: far from it! Nevertheless, certain key ideas dominated their writings. They genuinely thought that they were prophetic figures who could interpret reality. The Romantics highlighted the healing power of the imagination, because they truly believed that it could enable people to transcend their troubles and their circumstances. Their creative talents could illuminate and transform the world into a coherent vision, to regenerate mankind spiritually. In A Defence of Poetry(1821), Shelley elevated the status of poets: ‘They measure the circumference and sound the depths of human nature with a comprehensive and all-penetrating spirit…’.[1] He declared that ‘Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world’. This might sound somewhat pretentious, but it serves to convey the faith the Romantics had in their poetry.
Manuscript of P B Shelley’s ‘The Masque of Anarchy’
P B Shelley’s manuscript of ‘The Masque of Anarchy’, 1819, was a reaction of furious outrage at the Peterloo Massacre. An avowedly political poem, it praises the non-violence of the Manchester protesters when faced with the aggression of the state.
The marginalised and oppressed
Wordsworth was concerned about the elitism of earlier poets, whose highbrow language and subject matter were neither readily accessible nor particularly relevant to ordinary people. He maintained that poetry should be democratic; that it should be composed in ‘the language really spoken by men’ (Preface to Lyrical Ballads [1802]). For this reason, he tried to give a voice to those who tended to be marginalised and oppressed by society: the rural poor; discharged soldiers; ‘fallen’ women; the insane; and children.Blake was radical in his political views, frequently addressing social issues in his poems and expressing his concerns about the monarchy and the church. His poem ‘London’ draws attention to the suffering of chimney-sweeps, soldiers and prostitutes.
Lyrical Ballads: 1800 edition
In the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth writes that he has ‘taken as much pains to avoid [poetic diction] as others ordinarily take to produce it’, trying instead to ‘bring [his] language near to the language of men’.
William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience
![William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience [page: 46]](https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/english-online/collection-item-images/b/l/a/blake%20william%20william%20073565.jpg?w=608&h=342)
‘London’ from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, 1794. Blake emphasises the injustice of late 18th-century society and the desperation of the poor.
Children, nature and the sublime
For the world to be regenerated, the Romantics said that it was necessary to start all over again with a childlike perspective. They believed that children were special because they were innocent and uncorrupted, enjoying a precious affinity with nature. Romantic verse was suffused with reverence for the natural world. In Coleridge’s ‘Frost at Midnight’ (1798) the poet hailed nature as the ‘Great universal Teacher!’ Recalling his unhappy times at Christ’s Hospital School in London, he explained his aspirations for his son, Hartley, who would have the freedom to enjoy his childhood and appreciate his surroundings. The Romantics were inspired by the environment, and encouraged people to venture into new territories – both literally and metaphorically. In their writings they made the world seem a place with infinite, unlimited potential.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, A Walking Tour of Cumbria
![Samuel Taylor Coleridge, A Walking Tour of Cumbria [folio: 3v-4r]](https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/english-online/collection-items-more/c/o/l/coleridge-samuel_taylor-samuel-g70000-64.jpg?w=608&h=342)
In August 1802, Samuel Taylor Coleridge set out from his home at Greta Hall, Keswick, for a week’s solo walking-tour in the nearby Cumbrian mountains. He kept detailed notes of the landscape around him, drawing rough sketches and maps. These notes and sketches are in Notebook No 2, one of 64 notebooks Coleridge kept between 1794 and his death.
A key idea in Romantic poetry is the concept of the sublime. This term conveys the feelings people experience when they see awesome landscapes, or find themselves in extreme situations which elicit both fear and admiration. For example, Shelley described his reaction to stunning, overwhelming scenery in the poem ‘Mont Blanc’ (1816).
Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful
![Burke's A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful [page: title page]](https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/english-online/collection-items-more/b/u/r/burke-edmund-burkes-b20120-28.jpg?w=608&h=342)
In this 1757 essay, the philosopher Edmund Burke discusses the attraction of the immense, the terrible and the uncontrollable. The work had a profound influence on the Romantic poets.
The second-generation Romantics
Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge were first-generation Romantics, writing against a backdrop of war. Wordsworth, however, became increasingly conservative in his outlook: indeed, second-generation Romantics, such as Byron, Shelley and Keats, felt that he had ‘sold out’ to the Establishment. In the suppressed Dedication to Don Juan (1819-1824) Byron criticised the Poet Laureate, Robert Southey, and the other ‘Lakers’, Wordsworth and Coleridge (all three lived in the Lake District). Byron also vented his spleen on the English Foreign Secretary, Viscount Castlereagh, denouncing him as an ‘intellectual eunuch’, a ‘bungler’ and a ‘tinkering slavemaker’ (stanzas 11 and 14). Although the Romantics stressed the importance of the individual, they also advocated a commitment to mankind. Byron became actively involved in the struggles for Italian nationalism and the liberation of Greece from Ottoman rule.Notorious for his sexual exploits, and dogged by debt and scandal, Byron quitted Britain in 1816. Lady Caroline Lamb famously declared that he was ‘Mad, bad and dangerous to know.’ Similar accusations were pointed at Shelley. Nicknamed ‘Mad Shelley’ at Eton, he was sent down from Oxford for advocating atheism. He antagonised the Establishment further by his criticism of the monarchy, and by his immoral lifestyle.
Letter from Lord Byron about his memoirs, 29 October 1819
In this letter to his publisher, John Murray, Byron notes the poor reception of the first two cantos of Don Juan, but states that he has written a hundred stanzas of a third canto. He also states that he is leaving his memoirs to his friend George Moore, to be read after his death, but that this text does not include details of his love affairs.
Copyright: © GG Byron
Female poets
Female poets also contributed to the Romantic movement, but their strategies tended to be more subtle and less controversial. Although Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855) was modest about her writing abilities, she produced poems of her own; and her journals and travel narratives certainly provided inspiration for her brother. Women were generally limited in their prospects, and many found themselves confined to the domestic sphere; nevertheless, they did manage to express or intimate their concerns. For example, Mary Alcock (c. 1742-1798) penned ‘The Chimney Sweeper’s Complaint’. In ‘The Birth-Day’, Mary Robinson (1758-1800) highlighted the enormous discrepancy between life for the rich and the poor. Gender issues were foregrounded in ‘Indian Woman’s Death Song’ by Felicia Hemans (1793-1835).
The Gothic
Reaction against the Enlightenment was reflected in the rise of the Gothic novel. The most popular and well-paid 18th-century novelist, Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823), specialised in ‘the hobgoblin-romance’. Her fiction held particular appeal for frustrated middle-class women who experienced a vicarious frisson of excitement when they read about heroines venturing into awe-inspiring landscapes. She was dubbed ‘Mother Radcliffe’ by Keats, because she had such an influence on Romantic poets. The Gothic genre contributed to Coleridge’s Christabel(1816) and Keats’s ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ (1819). Mary Shelley (1797-1851) blended realist, Gothic and Romantic elements to produce her masterpiece Frankenstein (1818), in which a number of Romantic aspects can be identified. She quotes from Coleridge’s Romantic poem The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere. In the third chapter Frankenstein refers to his scientific endeavours being driven by his imagination. The book raises worrying questions about the possibility of ‘regenerating’ mankind; but at several points the world of nature provides inspiration and solace.
The Mysteries of Udolpho
![The Mysteries of Udolpho [page: vol. I frontispiece and title page]](https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/english-online/collection-item-images/r/a/d/radcliffe%20ann%20mysteries%20b20074%2047.jpg?w=608&h=342)
The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe was one of the most popular and influential Gothic novels of the late 18th century.
The Byronic hero
Romanticism set a trend for some literary stereotypes. Byron’s Childe Harold (1812-1818) described the wanderings of a young man, disillusioned with his empty way of life. The melancholy, dark, brooding, rebellious ‘Byronic hero’, a solitary wanderer, seemed to represent a generation, and the image lingered. The figure became a kind of role model for youngsters: men regarded him as ‘cool’ and women found him enticing! Byron died young, in 1824, after contracting a fever. This added to the ‘appeal’. Subsequently a number of complex and intriguing heroes appeared in novels: for example, Heathcliff in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Edward Rochester in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (both published in 1847).
Illustrations to Wuthering Heights by Clare Leighton
The Byronic hero influenced Emily Brontë’s portrayal of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. This 1931 edition of Brontë’s novel is illustrated with wood engravings by Clare Leighton.
Copyright: © By arrangement with the Estate of Clare Leighton
Contraries
Romanticism offered a new way of looking at the world, prioritising imagination above reason. There was, however, a tension at times in the writings, as the poets tried to face up to life’s seeming contradictions. Blake published Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul (1794). Here we find two different perspectives on religion in ‘The Lamb’ and ‘The Tyger’. The simple vocabulary and form of ‘The Lamb’ suggest that God is the beneficent, loving Good Shepherd. In stark contrast, the creator depicted in ‘The Tyger’ is a powerful blacksmith figure. The speaker is stunned by the exotic, frightening animal, posing the rhetorical question: ‘Did he who made the Lamb make thee?’ InThe Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-1793) Blake asserted: ‘Without contraries is no progression’ (stanza 8).
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake
In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, William Blake explores ideas of contraries which also feature in Songs of Innocence and of Experience.
Wordsworth’s ‘Tintern Abbey’ (1798) juxtaposed moments of celebration and optimism with lamentation and regret. Keats thought in terms of an opposition between the imagination and the intellect. In a letter to his brothers, in December 1817, he explained what he meant by the term ‘Negative Capability’: ‘that is when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason’ (22 December). Keats suggested that it is impossible for us to find answers to the eternal questions we all have about human existence. Instead, our feelings and imaginations enable us to recognise Beauty, and it is Beauty that helps us through life’s bleak moments. Life involves a delicate balance between times of pleasure and pain. The individual has to learn to accept both aspects: ‘“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” – that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know’ (‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ [1819]).
Manuscript of ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ by John Keats
‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ from a manuscript copy believed to be in the hand of George Keats, the poet’s brother.
The premature deaths of Byron, Shelley and Keats contributed to their mystique. As time passed they attained iconic status, inspiring others to make their voices heard. The Romantic poets continue to exert a powerful influence on popular culture. Generations have been inspired by their promotion of self-expression, emotional intensity, personal freedom and social concern.
Footnotes
[1] Percy Bysshe Shelley, Shelley’s poetry and prose: authoritative texts, criticisms, ed. by Donald H. Reiman and Sharon B. Powers (New York; London: Norton, c.1977), p.485.
The text in this article is available under the Creative Commons License.
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The power of language by Thomas Moore
https://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article3284-the-power-of-language.html
The words a leader chooses are just as critical as their actions, writes Thomas Moore.
Peace and Love by Trevor Price. Image copyright: Trevor Price http://www.trevorprice.co.uk
“As a writer and psychotherapist, I have been using words carefully most of my life. While counselling a husband and wife, I notice that a single word can stir their emotions and take their conversation to a dark place they both know is negative.
If, for example, I use a word like ‘neurotic’ or even ‘troubled’ in talking to a client about his situation, he may feel judged and become defensive. On the other hand, a few honest words of appreciation can put a marriage back on track.
Words don’t just convey meaning: they are a force.
We live at a time when people are generally pragmatic. We want to be effective and we don’t care much about the words we use. We see signs of this carelessness in advertising, where grammar and spelling are secondary to perkiness and brevity. People drink lite sodas and are purchasing new tech (technology) for their business offices, and apps (applications) for their telephones.
Of course language evolves, but you can usually sense the difference between evolution and neglect. Smoothing out a word like ‘light’ into ‘lite’, we lose its history and associations. The word ultimately goes back to leukos in Greek and is related to leukaemia, a problem of white blood cells. We don’t sound the ‘gh’, but its presence there keeps the memory of the Greek associations.
In my own writing I try to find a midpoint between pedanticism and love of language. I know what I’m talking about, because I was once fired from a teaching position at a university in part because I didn’t write in acceptable academic style. Apparently, my words didn’t have sufficient or appropriate gravitas.
A Rumi story tells of a dervish walking past a deep well. He hears a voice:
“Help. I’m a writer and I’m stuck down here.”
The dervish says, “I’ll go find out where a ladder’s at.”
“Your grammar’s atrocious,” the writer shouts up.
“Well, then, you’ll have to wait there until my grammar improves,” the dervish says, and walks on.
I feel like the writer in the well waiting for grammar to improve. And not just grammar. I understand the Sufi complaint about being too fussy about rules of speech. I’m waiting, too, for a love of language to return, an appreciation for the words we use and for style and grace in expression. Like the writer in the well, I could be in for a long wait.
World leaders often use diplomatic language that hides the real meaning of the words, creating euphemisms that are outright dangerous. Describing slaughtered and maimed civilians as “collateral damage” is the classic example for our times, and it’s cynical in the extreme. “Enhanced interrogation techniques” for ‘torture’ seems part of the cruelty.
The bland and bloated language of politics blocks the opportunity for leaders to truly inspire and educate. Imagine hearing instead a thoughtful, measured analysis of the world situation from a leader, accompanied by intelligent, subtle solutions to problems. Instead, we get the tired and unimaginative language of war and militancy. Wars begin with words, so we should be careful how we speak, especially to nations where there is tension. Our words can heal the situation before the military takes up its weapons.
We could all have a rule that we won’t use words that come to us unconsciously and out of habit or that are in the common parlance of public discourse. Fresh words could help us arrive at fresh ideas, for there is an intimate connection between thought and word. Careful use of words requires careful thinking.
Sometimes I wonder if the language of progressive movements gets in the way of the message. I, for one, always stumble at the word ‘sustainability’. When I think about it, I know what it means, but it doesn’t feel like a friendly word. I’d rather talk about not being wasteful, or about using resources carefully and wisely. ‘Environmentalism’ isn’t such a friendly word either. Maybe we need a new, simple word or phrase – ‘care for the world’.
World peace begins with peace in the family. As a therapist, I’ve heard many adults recite hurtful words they heard decades ago from a parent or sibling. Care in speaking to children requires a degree of self-possession, the ability to see past the blind emotion of the moment to the needs of the child. Good words come from that greater vision.
For example, words of extreme praise can do wonders for the injured ego of a child or spouse. Sometimes it’s helpful to give words to what is usually left unspoken. “I appreciate what you did for me. I’m happy that you’re with me.” Simple, direct and felt words of praise, appreciation and gratitude often go unsaid, when they could be a handy means of healing. Words hurt and words heal”
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Enjoy taking care
“Fresh words could help us arrive at fresh ideas, for there is an intimate connection between thought and word. Careful use of words requires careful thinking.”
Thomas Moore
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Poetry and the grief of losing a child
When poetry can help to ease the pain Tim Maguire on poems that may
offer solace while grieving ‘for a child that had not yet lived’ Letters ‘There are many beautiful poems available,’ says Tim Maguire. I was touched by Devika Bhat’s article about losing her baby (G2, 28 October) and shared it with my humanist celebrant colleagues. Devika says: “There is no established narrative around grieving for a child that had not yet lived and, it turns out, that is reflected in literature too.” She is right that the subject is rarely discussed but, because of what we do, we are aware that there are many beautiful poems available. Noteworthy examples include The Noble Nature by Ben Jonson and When the Heart by Michael Leunig. Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, has also published an anthology of poems written by parents and other family members called A Gift of Words. I hope this information can help anyone affected find at least some solace at this most difficult of times. Tim Maguire
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Hundreds of people reading this but who are they and why?
If the hundreds of people from the USA reading my blog today continues I will close the blog temporarily
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Mary and the the holiday
Mary sat in her living room crying virtuously and feeling lonely.
Emile her clever cat ran out of the door into the front street and went round to Annie’s their lovely yet frightful neighbour.
You’d better come round; mother is crying, the poor animal moaned picturesquely
Annie was wearing a purple jumpsuit with green suede boots and their matching green scarf round her neck. Not leather but wool the leather might bebetter in the rain!
She followed the small but strong cat into the bijiu house next door and immediately went into the kitchen to put the electric kettle on
Who is that said Mary thoughtfully?
It’s only me cried Annie kindlily
Whatever is the matter, Mary? Emile’s so worried about you
Oh it’s stupid but I’ve just got a letter saying my ultrasound scan is tomorrow and I really don’t feel like going
Would you like me to come with you?
Well that would help but you see I’m worried because…..
I’ll let you in to a secret
All these UTIs have made my bladder weak and I’m worried that I won’t be able to go there with a full bladder
Well why don’t you go to the loof first?
No you can’t because the ultrasound scan of the bladder does not work unless it is fairly full because if it’s not full all the other organs crowd it away. That sounds rather odd like animals in the jungle….
But they also look at the kidneys as well and that’s both in that case or even if the bladder doesn’t show up on the scan it will certainly be able to examine the kidneys. And I won’t be able to wear my jumpsuit because I wouldn’t like to have to take that off in a room full of technicians and medical people
Well it’s like everything in life we need some advice so why don’t we ring 999 and ask Dave the paramedic to come round to help us with our discussion and see if we can give any good advice
In 10 minutes they heard the ambulance coming down the street with the siren blaring. In ran Dave the paramedic wearing a pinstripe suit made of pure silk and wool and underneath it he wore a large pink bra stuffed with useful items that he couldn’t carry in his pockets in case it spoiled his suit
Mary you shouldn’t keep everything to yourself so much because lots of people have to have ultrasound scans
You don’t have to get undressed if you wear elastic waisted trousers.
You can get some very nice incontinence pants in Toots the pharmacy you could even wear two pairs of them and if the worst comes to the worst then if you wet yourself it will be an opportunity for the staff to show how kind and understanding they are. Maybe they will send you home more quickly in urgent transport and not make you wait for three hours or more like they did the last time you went to hospital,
I will see if I can pop by depending on my duties tomorrow.
Annie thought to herself I wonder if Mary is really worried about wetting her pants or is it she’s worried about whether she’s got cancer or some other mysterious disease. After all you can change your knickers and your trousers but you can’t change your organs easily especially when you are a very very old person.
She made some lovely hot coffee and they all sat around the fire looking at photo graphs of North Norfolk which Stan had taken on their last holiday in Ringstead. Mary still missed Stan very much
Why am I not on the photographs mewed Emile the little yet clever vcat?
Well that was before you were born Mary told him gently because if you had been here we would have taken you with us like we did our first cat Benjamin to Brancaster
Well that’s giving me idead Dave cried
Why don’t we arrange a holiday in North Norfolk and I can drive you and Emile can sit next to me in a basket strapped to the seat
Oh that sounds a wonderful idea Mary cried joyously
It will be nice to have some future plan to think about rather than just day to day worries of health and foods etc
Annie said why don’t we go to Wells next the sea
Yes that’s a very nice place with a shop that sells real Guernsey and Aran sweaters
Now everyone’s got central heating not many people want them but they’re very good for folk going out in boats to see the seals near Sharingham.
Well maybe we could go out in a boat and see the seals Annie answered him as she picked up the coffee cup to take them back to the kitchen
Mary realised that worrying was using a lot of her energy and if they were going on holiday she could spend the time planning her wardrobe as advised by Good hmGousekeeping fashion page
Until Mary had read this magazine she had never thought that anyone would buy a special wardrobe just to go for a week’s holiday but apparently they do even when they’re not going to somewhere exotic hot or very, very cold like the Arctic circle
I think Annie will have to go up to Wigan to buy some of that makeup that they’re specializing in up there because she will want to buy eyeshadow and blusher to match the coastal colours of blue mauve gray pink and the sunshine colors of spring like the Hawthorne blossom on the hedges by the coast road running from King’s Lynn to Cromer
Well at least it seems that Mary has got something else to think about and the other two will enjoy it whereas Emile om may find it rather hard but he can always travel in someone’s pocket or a special bag
Is there such a thing as a cat rucksack?
Mary is good with her hands so perhaps she will make one un start a new trend
And so will some of us!
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The broken chair
“Your eyes are like deep pools in the Indonesian ocean” Stan murmured into his mistress Annie’s ear.He gently took hold of her and pulled her down onto his thin knee.
Just as he did , his new Habitat chair collapsed and they fell onto the floor.,the chair in many bits around them like a jigsaw puzzle in three dimenstions,
Have you got your smartphone,my sweetheart “he whispered romantically
“I think you’ll have to ring 999.
“OK,my angel” Annie prattled,
” Operator,it’s my lover’s chair .It keeps collapsing;can we bring into A and E to be fixed? Well he can’t get into to bed anymore as he is 107,so we really need this”
Just then a pebble hit the window,it was his wife coming back from Sainsburys” She’s lost her keys in her book bag yet again
Oh,wonderful,just at the right moment” he shouted,”Hello,Mary,here is Annie,she’s a chair surgeon!”
“Oh,that’s good”,Mary muttered enigmatically.
” Do you ever fix beds?”
“Why do you ask?” Annie cried sweetly
“Well, ours is always collapsing’it’s yet another of life’s mysteries.”
“Why,you are so beautiful, Mary.You are mesmerising.Come and show me your bed.We’ll leave Stan here.He’ll soon be in that ambulance”
“Annie,your eyes are like deep salty pools in the Dead Sea .”
“Have you both been on the same creative writing course?” Mary spouted satirically.
“I aim for satisfaction.Here’s my gun.I’m going to shoot you” Annie called
“But we have no guns in the UK” Mary whispered under her breath
“Well you have now.” Annie said logically.
Just then the emergency ambulance arrived with its siren scaring the cats nearby but not Emile as he heard it so many times.
“OK. which chair is it this time” the trisexual paramedic Dave enquired foxily.
“Have you ever thought of making it in the bath?We’re getting really worried about you in Casualty,at your age.”
“Worry no more” Anne screamed emphatically, firing the gun repeatedly into the chair’s remains.
“I’ll make sure he never sits in it again.And now Habitat’s gone bust,he can’t buy another.’”
“Cheers ,mate!”whispered the paramedic dramatically.
“Has anyone ever told you,your eyes are like deep pools in the Sea of Tralee”.
“Oh,no not another one!”Anne moaned tentatively,”You need to raise your whole game,not just change the name of the sea”
“You’re so intelligent too,lady.Can you teach me truly creative writing?” He yelled quietly,by the way I am Trisexual.
” What a funny name.Come upstairs” she murmured in reply, “and we’ll see what sea we can see up there,tonight”.
“Thank you so much and please send me home in a stamped addressed envelope when you are done with me.” he responded quixotically
“Whatever” she sighed spontaneously.”Let’s get on with it or you’ll be here all night”
Does it matter? he called.”I am paid by the flower”
Emile the little black cat who had hidden in the wardrobe was disappointed that the light went out as he hoped to take a photo.
And so did all of us
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If this be love
If this be love,then let me have your hate.
If you be true then let me hear your lies.
For this, my heart, your message comes too late.
For now my need is for the thoughtful wise.
If this be marriage,let me have divorce.
If this be holy, hasten I to hell..
For love comes in its time without such force.
And of its message who am I to tell?
If this be love,then let me dwell alone.
If this be love, I will be forever chaste.
Your love is like a blow that breaks my bones
A love that lays your world and mine to waste
.
Love can shake us to our inner core.
Hence of your love, I wish to hear no more
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Philip Pullman’s The Rose Field: a manifesto for how to be..
A Life of One’s Own by Joanna Biggs review – on the shoulders of giants
Philip Pullman at 79
Mary finds that she is sardonic
Mary was feeling very unwell so she was not happy hen the phone rang.
It was a former colleague of hers who asked her how she was. But she didn’t want to tell anyone she was ill with covid-19
Oh I am grieving for my sister, Mary told her untruthfully but firmly.
You have never mentioned your sister before.Were you close to her?
Oh no. I wasn’t close to her I just like grieving for people that I’m not close to, don’t you?
Mary I think you are being sardonic. I’ve never heard you speak like that before. What has come over you?
Am I really being sardonicJust think that you can be sardonic without even knowing it.
I don’t believe you Mary You know what it is I am sure you do.
Well you can know something and practice it without necessarily knowing the name or knowing that there is a name for it
Suddenly she realized that everything that has a name now must have been experienced by human beings before the name was given to it and it was they who had invented a name for it
We don’t know what it will be in another language like Italian or German either
Annie came running in lb into the kitchen wearing some green trousers and a purple top. She had no makeup on at all which is very unusual for this dear lady.What was wrong with her? Could you be about to change gender?
Mary are you feeling better? Who are you talking to? Anything exciting?
Oh it’s Leonora do you remember her? She used to teach in Huddersfield polytechnic where I took a course in algebraic mythology.
Don’t be ridiculous if you wanted to learn algebraic mythology you would have gone to East Barnet University. How Annie got this idea is a mystery since she is a very uneducated and thoughtless person but who knows? Some people become more intelligent as they get older especially if they wear a lot of makeup filled with dangerous chemicals.
Well never mind I can’t remember where I met her but she is very clever and she’s just come back to this country from Australia
Well she must be short of company if she’s phoning you now after 20 or 30 years of absence. Was she in fact a colleague of yours?
How can you say something so rude to me? I am stunned
Oh I’m sorry Mary. I am feeling depressed at the moment and sometimes that can make me cruel.
I forgive you because I’ve known you for many years al. I know chronic pain can make people behave badly as well in fact there’s a higher risk of suicide for those people. But in the current political climate we’re all at a higher risk of suicide or murder.
Why are you feeling so depressed, do you know? Of course that is the thing we often don’t know why we are depressed and that is what is so horrible about it because we don’t know what to do.
Is it just a chemical reaction that’s gone wrong in the brain or is it some indication that we are locking for a deep meaning to our lives or maybe we just hate the society we’re living in especially the newspapers.
I’m not sure perhaps it’s the spring sunshine that can bring on seasonal ineffective disorder.
Well I will say goodbye to Leonora and I will make you a lovely cup of tea in the kitchen with Emile. He will be thrilled to see you with your purple lipstick and your green eye shadow which had mysteriously appeared by themselves on Annie’s face. Free at the point of contact just like the nhs
Mary I’m so fortunate to have you as my friend.
Some people would never speak to me again if I was rude to them
Well we should never jump to conclusions especially . And this is a very minor offense that you have committed compared to what politicians do every day but even our politicians here are nothing like so bad as Ronald Stump
According to the Times readers we have to become resilient and not let things affect us but unfortunately they don’t say how.
Well we can talk about that while we have our tea
I’d rather talk about fashion really I believe yellow is the color for this year
Oh for God’s sake Emile cried. I hate the colour yellow except on flowers and the sun but I do not like women wearing yellow clothing.
Emil you are just a cat but you are very wise so we will talk about something else altogether namely what we shall have for our supper.
I’d like sardines on toast,the cat purred
Then I will do the washing up for you
I want to wash my fur tonight
Your wish is my command Mary cried
Thus it did transpire
What the two women ate is a total mystery
Send your ideas on a postcard. You might win 10 pounds for the the best suggestion on the other hand you may not win anything at all because I’m too tired to think about it
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Where’s your passport, where’s your alibi?
Murder has been done and there’s a War
I’m the Lamb of God and he’s my Pa.
All the angels gave a gulping sigh
Jesus ,don’t go back, you go too far
Where’s your passport, where’s your alibi
Even Satan seemed annoyed and jarred
Take away those leaders and their Whores
There’s the Lamb of God and his old Pa.
What’s my crime ,sweet Jesus, should I lie?
The Market’s bust and you are going to die.
Where’s your passport, where’s your alibi?
We had a powerful sacrifice bizarre
We killed God and then we wore his Stars.
Where’s the Lamb of God,oh,ahaha!
The world is reddened by the blood of man
On the nursery slopes, this War began
Where’s your passport, where’s your alibi
I was the Lamb of God but where’s my Pa?
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Which husband do you want with you in heaven Mary asked her
One afternoon Mary decided to visit Jean in the nursing home. Jean could not walk and she had severe dementia and was an angry woman but nevertheless there was something about her that Mary liked enough
Can I come along as well cried her cat Emile peevishly,,,?
No Jean doesn’t like cats and she’s a very determined woman so I’m not going to set her off by taking you in there and don’t say you can stay my handbag because it’s hot were and I don’t want you to suffocate silently.
Would it be alright if I suffocated while mewing?
?
Emile I cannot risk you suffocating because I love you that’s why I’m leaving you at home by yourself. You can always go in the garden and meet some other cats
Emile stalked away like a woman with injured pride
When Mary got there, Jean was having a bad day
I want to die she screamed. Will you kill me? Please do please do,,,
It’s illegal for me to kill you Mary told her rudely
Oh you’re such a coward Mary: be brave and kill me. I’d be really grateful
Well it’s very difficult to kill someone like you because you are naturally strong and strangling you would be extremely tough probably impossible and how could you be grateful to me when you were dead?
If you believe there’s an afterlife then you cannot kill yourself or be killed by me it’s murder in either case.
You’re a chuckling print, Jean shouted.
I understand what you mean but I think you’ve got the wrong word! I have seen this written down but I’ve never heard anyone so it out loud that is, c*nt.
Why what’s wrong with it?
Nothing in itself but when it’s combined with another word like f*cking it becomes unspeakably unpleasant and anyway you should not use that name as a curse word. It’s where new life is born. It’s like a flower like a rose or a carnation
Mary thought to herself I think I’m going to write a poem!
I never said it answered Jean but there’s got to be some way of expressing my frustration
Talking about the afterlife Mary said politely you jave been married twice. When you go to heaven which of your husbands do you want to be with you for all eternity?
Thinking about it very carefully Jean sat silent for quite some time. Then she gave a most intelligent response.
I loved them both the same
In that case you are a very fortunate woman although I know it’s very hard for you now. Would you like me to bring my cat next time I come? He is called Emile and he is very very interesting and can speak good English. Or I have a friend who’s a paramedic called Dave and he makes very good cakes and biscuits and likes to wear dresses in the summer
Triumphantly Jean announced that she would like to see both the cat and the paramedic as she was very bored in the nursing home and she loved to talk to people or even to animals
And so do most of us
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An interview with Philip Pullman
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Autumn colour
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Autumn in Oxfordshire
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Your credit’s marred
Please play before parking your car Don’t go home without your dripping
Please use a different credit marred
Please be police to other passengers on this plane
Do as you would be stunned by Don’t be anti-specific in this Motel
Keep Britain Pernicious
Are you a Fascist? Free tuition in the UK
Please drive your car to the Brexit gate before decaying
Keep your seat polished in Church
Don’t leave the IOU today Johnson said, “what EU” to my cat
The Sermon on our doubts
Are you racist about God?
What a Gnostic! It’s Greek to me.Gnow,gnow. The Church of England is praying in Europe this week
Leave the memories be kind My sister likes to pray on her piano every day .
What’s on the TV? Just the cat I’m afraid.
Income Tax goes out
You can’t fool glee.
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One litre is Equal to How many Glasses of Water? [Solved]
One litre is Equal to How many Glasses of Water? [Solved] https://share.google/hHd6FVq4TYD4g2lM0
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Rondel form
The sun lay on the leaves like molten gold
I had to shield my eyes, it blinded me
I gazed with joy on the red maple tree.
The sky was violet blue,the air was cold.
The birds this fall don’t emigrate, they flee.
They’re foreign birds,the Sun has told
The sunlight on the leaves was molten gold
I had to shield my eyes, it blinded me.
All that’s foreign like the sun is told
We don’t want you here, depart our trees.
We want no alien folk within our fold
The headlines scream, the people are aggrieved
The sun lay on the leaves like molten gold
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Home – Flippin’ Pain
Word of the Day: sheaf – The New York Times
What irritates me?
I do not like advent calendars with beauty products on each day.
Is you know what advent is and you want to celebrate it or to prepare yourself for the birth of Christ assuming that you are a believer then how can you possibly want the advent calendar to have beauty products daily I don’t know whether you get them in packages or whether you are just told the name but it’s in bad taste to my mind
If you’ve no idea what advent is then fine you must wonder sometimes about advent and lent etc etc etc
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Would you let a pixie cut your hair?
Do you rinse the soap suds off your face
And wash your hair with eggs and lemonade?
Do you go to bed in purple tights
And silken tops that shine in sweet moonlight?
Do you have a dagger in your bag?
And wash your hair with Lucian’s paint rag?
Would you like to live your life again?
Would you live through every single pain?
Would you have a mattress on your bed
Made of memory foam and heavy lead?
Would you let a pixie cut your hair?
Would you go to Yorkshire for the Fair?
Would you go on Cruises with a man?
Would you put a tax on copper pans?
Would you go to Edgware when deceased?
Would you tell me you were very pleased?
Would you give up dreaming if betrayed
By people who you knew were sick, depraved?
Write a letter,send me with the post
Put me in your pocket if I boast
Tell me nuts are good for breaking teeth
Send me daisies in a funeral wreath
Ask my other if he will come home
Send me to the doctor wrapped in foam
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A Mind of My Own by Kathy Burke review – a brilliant, blunt and beautiful memoir | Books | The Guardian
The path and the light
I saw my level path turn steep and dark
I saw a tunnel black without a light
I hesitated wondering how to stop.
But seemed intent on death or sudden flight.
No human being held out a warm hand
They left me all alone in anguished pain Yet how should I in that state right decide
What was best for me, what made a claim?
The golden warmth like clouds from rising sun
Wrapped me all around till we were one.
There was no speech ,no person and no blame
No demand, no order, love remained.
Beyond despair I found this unknown care.
A sheet of tears ran down my poor face bare.
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The I of the needle
Each of us likes our own quiddity;
As it makes us unique,don’t you know?
And if we are felled by liquidity
We must be sure not to get drink up the snow.
Our fingerprints, our eyes and our shadows
Are not shared with anyone else.
So as we lie in the butter-cupped meadow
We must ensure we will never be false.
Quiddity’s a word that the toffs use
Anglo-Saxon is thought non de trop.
O Temper O Celtic O Flores.
Norman said he told me so.
Per ardua ad astra perggun tree
Eton men all speak in Greek.
So tell them to eff of if flumshee
The English sure know how to speak.
At dinner with folk from the Gunnament
Be sure to say ,eclectic’s inchoate.
But when you’re at home with your fundament..
Do keep your self esteem well afloat.
Why is the tongue of the Bible
Not something the rich like to speak?
Maybe the eye of that needle
Has made them more fluent in Greek.
Even the poor can have chutzpa
As they fry up a bagel in lard.
Oy vey, the Messiah is out there.
So give away on your new debit card.
Good Lord,God must speak Aramaic
Or Hebrew and/or HTML
For the commandments may be somewhat archaic;
But their translation has given us all hell.
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The old prayer book
On the shelf I found a prize I won
I came out first in an old school exam
They rewarded me with this book I revered
Catholic prayers, a manual of fear.
Its pages edged in gold, it’s very swish.
Maybe I should stand this in a dish.
I would put it on the table when I ate
And read a prayer to keep me out of date
I look inside and see the latin verse.
It moves my heart remembering, rehearsed.
I liked the latin ritual and the hymns
But not the constant emphasis on sin
I thought it was my fault that daddy died.
The weight of all the world was multiplied
I think I’ll put the prayer book in a drawer
I don’t want to see it anymore
Latin is no longer used in church
Once it was the way we kept in touch.
Now everything’s in turmoil nothing lasts.
I wish the past would stay right in the past.
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Warning of Advent
How my heart sings 
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