I forget yesterday to post this but… hey!
ORIGINAL POST:
A priest friend reminded me that today is the day before St. Agnes Day, “The Eve of St Agnes” and that, therefore, this would be a good day to post about the famous poem by John Keats.
And so I did!
I read Keat’s poem, in 42 Spencerian stanzas. It is all very romantic and torrid and lush, with marvelous moments and imagery. It is imbued with the revival of romantic, courtly love which was coming back into vogue in the early 19th century. The poem takes inspiration in part from a superstition, which I explain in an introduction.
The Eve of St Agnes would inspire the Pre-Raphaelites, as a matter of fact. One of their circle, was Christina Rossetti, a poet in her own right.
Christina Rossetti wrote a poem which later was made into a Christmas carol: In the Bleak Midwinter. We are still within the Christmas cycle until Candlemas, after all.
There it is.
PODCAzT 127: The Eve of St Agnes and a Bleak Midwinter [ 37:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2302)
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Love the painting. I put this on my blog earlier yesterday as well, but it was like giving a party and no one came.
Thanks for loving poetry. Remember the kerfuffle last year?
http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-eve-of-st-agnes.html
Just in case someone gets interested…to be a Catholic is to be steeped in the liberal arts…
Supertradmum says: Remember the kerfuffle last year?
Ohhhh yes. Strange.
Thank you, Father!
Speaking of Keats, my teenage daughters watched Bright Star on DVD a while ago and loved it – such a beautiful film – they watch very few modern films, but love period films (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey etc). Going back to Bright Star, towards the end of the film, Keats hands out some copies of The Eve of St Agnes at a dinner with the Brawne family and when asked, has to admit that it wasn’t too well received – poor thing!
Stay warm, Fr Z. According to NOAA, the wind chill in your parts is -20 to -45 oF.
The Chicken