Catullus 1 is traditionally arranged first among the poems of the Roman poet Catullus, though it was not necessarily the first poem that he wrote. It is dedicated to Cornelius Nepos, a historian and minor poet, though some consider Catullus' praise of Cornelius' history of the Italians to have been sarcastic.
The poem alternates between humility and a self-confident manner; Catullus calls his poetry "little" and "trifles", but asks that it remain for more than one age. This understatement is likely deliberate; Catullus knows very well the quality of his poetry, and also the provocative form it has. He also calls his work "new"; the poems are recently made and therefore new, but they are also new as some of the first examples of Neoteric poetry in the Latin language.
The meter of this poem is hendecasyllabic, a common form in Catullus' poetry.
Jabberwocky
Jabberwocky (1977) is a comic medieval film by Monty Python's resident animator, Terry Gilliam. It stars Michael Palin as a young cooper who is forced through a series of clumsy, often slapstick misfortunes to hunt down a terrible dragon after the death of his father. The name is taken from the nonsense poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.
The film, Gilliam's first as a solo director, was not well received by critics or audiences, although it has since become something of a cult film. Despite its lack of initial success, Jabberwocky strongly established Gilliam's distinctive visual style and dark sense of humour.
The film is close in setting and comic style to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, on which Gilliam had worked. As well as Palin, fellow Python Terry Jones and notable Python contributor Neil Innes also appeared in Jabberwocky, giving it a distinctly Python-esque feel, with many scenes (such as the "hide and seek" jousting tournament) heavily reminiscent of Holy Grail. For its American premiere the film was initially advertised as Monty Python's Jabberwocky, despite protests from Gilliam.
The film, Gilliam's first as a solo director, was not well received by critics or audiences, although it has since become something of a cult film. Despite its lack of initial success, Jabberwocky strongly established Gilliam's distinctive visual style and dark sense of humour.
The film is close in setting and comic style to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, on which Gilliam had worked. As well as Palin, fellow Python Terry Jones and notable Python contributor Neil Innes also appeared in Jabberwocky, giving it a distinctly Python-esque feel, with many scenes (such as the "hide and seek" jousting tournament) heavily reminiscent of Holy Grail. For its American premiere the film was initially advertised as Monty Python's Jabberwocky, despite protests from Gilliam.
Fables and Parables
Fables and Parables (Bajki i przypowieści, 1779), by Ignacy Krasicki, is a noted work in a long international tradition of fable-writing that reaches back to antiquity.
Emulating the fables of the ancient Greek Aesop, the Macedonian-Roman Phaedrus, the Polish Biernat of Lublin, and the Frenchman Jean de La Fontaine, and anticipating Russia's Ivan Krylov, the Pole Krasicki populates his fables with anthropomorphized animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature, in masterful epigrammatic expressions of a skeptical, ironic view of the world.
That view is informed by Krasicki's observations of humanity and of national and international politics in his day, notably the predicament of the expiring Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Just seven years earlier (1772), the Commonwealth had experienced the first of three partitions that would, by 1795, totally expunge the Commonwealth from the political map of Europe.
There was once a young man whose temperance never flagged;
There was an old man, too, who never scolded or nagged;
There was a rich man who shared his wealth with the needy;
There flourished an author, for renown never greedy;
There was a customs man who did not steal; a cobbler who shunned alcohol;
A soldier who did not boast; a rogue who did not brawl;
There was a politician who never thought of self;
There was a poet who never put lies on his shelf.
"No, you'll never convince me that that's the right label!"
"Nevertheless, I will call all of this a fable."
Emulating the fables of the ancient Greek Aesop, the Macedonian-Roman Phaedrus, the Polish Biernat of Lublin, and the Frenchman Jean de La Fontaine, and anticipating Russia's Ivan Krylov, the Pole Krasicki populates his fables with anthropomorphized animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature, in masterful epigrammatic expressions of a skeptical, ironic view of the world.
That view is informed by Krasicki's observations of humanity and of national and international politics in his day, notably the predicament of the expiring Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Just seven years earlier (1772), the Commonwealth had experienced the first of three partitions that would, by 1795, totally expunge the Commonwealth from the political map of Europe.
There was once a young man whose temperance never flagged;
There was an old man, too, who never scolded or nagged;
There was a rich man who shared his wealth with the needy;
There flourished an author, for renown never greedy;
There was a customs man who did not steal; a cobbler who shunned alcohol;
A soldier who did not boast; a rogue who did not brawl;
There was a politician who never thought of self;
There was a poet who never put lies on his shelf.
"No, you'll never convince me that that's the right label!"
"Nevertheless, I will call all of this a fable."
Venus and Adonis
Venus and Adonis is one of Shakespeare's three longer poems.
Venus and Adonis was entered into the Stationers' Register on April 18, 1593; the poem appeared later that year in a quarto edition, published and printed by Richard Field, a Stratford-upon-Avon man and a close contemporary of Shakespeare. Field released a second quarto in 1594, then transferred his copyright to John Harrison ("the Elder"), the stationer who published the first edition of The Rape of Lucrece, also in 1594. Subsequent editions of Venus and Adonis were in octavo format rather than quarto; Harrison issued the third edition (O1) probably in 1595, and the fourth (O2) in 1596 (both of Harrison's editions were printed by Field). The poem's copyright then passed to William Leake, who published two editions (O3, O4) in 1599 alone, with perhaps four (O5, O6, O7, and O8) in 1602. The copyright passed to William Barrett in 1617; Barrett issued O9 that same year. Five more editions appeared by 1640 — making the poem, with 16 editions in 47 years, one of the great popular successes of its era.
Doom metal band My Dying Bride used extracts of the poem in the song For My Fallen Angel, on their 1996 album, Like Gods of the Sun.
Venus and Adonis was entered into the Stationers' Register on April 18, 1593; the poem appeared later that year in a quarto edition, published and printed by Richard Field, a Stratford-upon-Avon man and a close contemporary of Shakespeare. Field released a second quarto in 1594, then transferred his copyright to John Harrison ("the Elder"), the stationer who published the first edition of The Rape of Lucrece, also in 1594. Subsequent editions of Venus and Adonis were in octavo format rather than quarto; Harrison issued the third edition (O1) probably in 1595, and the fourth (O2) in 1596 (both of Harrison's editions were printed by Field). The poem's copyright then passed to William Leake, who published two editions (O3, O4) in 1599 alone, with perhaps four (O5, O6, O7, and O8) in 1602. The copyright passed to William Barrett in 1617; Barrett issued O9 that same year. Five more editions appeared by 1640 — making the poem, with 16 editions in 47 years, one of the great popular successes of its era.
Doom metal band My Dying Bride used extracts of the poem in the song For My Fallen Angel, on their 1996 album, Like Gods of the Sun.
Puella Mea
"Puella Mea" is a poem by E. E. Cummings. It is notable as his longest poem, at 290 lines. The title is Latin and translates as "My Girl", referring to Elaine Orr Thayer, his first wife, and the mother of his only child.
"Puella Mea" was first published in the January 1921 issue of the Dial, and then in Tulips and Chimneys, Cummings' first collection of poetry. In 1949, it was published as a separate book by Golden Eagle Press. The book featured illustrations by Cummings, Paul Klee, Amedeo Modigliani, and Pablo Picasso.
"Puella Mea" was first published in the January 1921 issue of the Dial, and then in Tulips and Chimneys, Cummings' first collection of poetry. In 1949, it was published as a separate book by Golden Eagle Press. The book featured illustrations by Cummings, Paul Klee, Amedeo Modigliani, and Pablo Picasso.
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