Sunday, March 24, 2024

Mar 24– “The Defense of Guenevere” (1858) by William Morris

His Name Is Lancelot

Mar 24– “The Defense of Guenevere” (1858) by William Morris

Summary: Guinevere monologues to Gawain before she gets burnt at the stake. Broadly: let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Commentary: Please stop rhyming words with themselves. Especially easy ones like lie. Tons of words end with the eye sound, and it's also very slantable. I assume this is intentional, since it happens several times, but I think it's awkward.

I do like this stanza:

"However often Spring might be most thick

Of blossoms and buds, smote on me, and I grew

Careless of most things, let the clock tick, tick,

The repetition of tick to hit the syllable number and mimic the clock is a nice trick.


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July 2– From "Plutarch’s Lives: Caesar" translated by Dryden and edited by A. H. Clough

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