literature

339d

Castles in the sky: the fantastical drawings of author Victor Hugo – in pictures

Although better known for his sprawling Romantic novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables, celebrated French author Victor Hugo spent much of his time drawing. A collection of about 70 of his sketches will soon be on display at the Royal Academy in London, in an exhibition bringing together caricatures, travel drawings and landscapes.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2025/mar/01/castles-in-the-sky-the-fantastical-drawings-of-author-victor-hugo-in-pictures

#art #painting #literature

Landscape With a Castle on a Cliff, 1857 by Victor Hugo.

With materials as diverse as coffee dregs, ink and soot, he often elaborated upon chance blots to suggest baroque shapes. He also used stencils, lace and folding to create complex abstract patterns, scraping and manipulating the ink, even with his fingers.

In Landscape with a castle he created a stencil and brushed ink over it, to leave the fortress as a white reserve, then added details in pen. The ‘assisted’ accidents of the ink washes and strong contrast of light and dark combine to produce a tempestuous atmosphere.

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/victor-hugo-landscape-with-a-castle/VwGHuvUUnNhaHA?hl=en

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11d

Beacon Book Festival 2026
20–22 February, Greenock

The inaugural Beacon Book Festival will take place next month at Beacon Arts Centre, welcoming some of the UK’s finest writers, poets and storytellers to Inverclyde for three inspiring days of discussion, performance and creativity.

https://www.beaconartscentre.co.uk/beacon-book-festival/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #storytelling #writers #Greenock #Inverclyde

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11d

Level Vibes: Burns Night 2026

Level Vibes spotlights the relationship between Scotland & Jamaica through the creativity of Jamaican poets, curated by Jamaican artist Fabian Thomas.

You can read the poems online, as well as articles examining Burns’s attitudes to slavery & Scotland’s connections with Jamaica during the poet’s lifetime

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/burns-night-2026/

#Scottish #literature #Scotland #Jamaica #RobertBurns #poetry #slavery #18thcentury

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364d

'The truth is she did the right thing': The mystery of why Jane Austen's letters were destroyed – by her own sister

By Neil Armstrong

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250129-the-mystery-of-why-jane-austens-letters-were-destroyed-by-her-own-sister

Books by Jane Austen at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/68

#books #literature

This pencil and watercolour portrait of Jane by Cassandra is the only authenticated picture of the novelist.

The sketch is somewhat unfinished, with detailed attention given to Jane Austen's face while the rest of the figure remains lightly outlined. The portrait is often referenced in discussions about Austen’s life and works, though some have debated whether it truly captures her likeness. It is now housed in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

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364d

Finnish priest, lyric and epic poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg was born #OTD in 1804 (Runeberg Day).

He is the author of the lyrics to Vårt land (Our Land, Maamme in Finnish) which became the Finnish national anthem. Runeberg was also involved in the modernization of the Finnish Lutheran hymnal and produced many texts for the new edition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Ludvig_Runeberg

Books by Johan Ludvig Runeberg at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2842

#books #literature #poetry

Finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, 1804-1877. Portrait by Albert Edelfelt (1893).

This portrait of Runeberg depicts him as a dignified and intellectual figure, reflecting his literary influence and patriotic spirit. A well-known painting typically present him in formal 19th-century attire, with a contemplative expression, emphasizing his role as a writer and thinker.

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11d

May Liberty meet wi’ success!
May Prudence protect her frae evil!
May tyrants and tyranny tine i’ the mist,
And wander their way to the devil!

—Robert Burns, “Here’s a Health to them that’s awa” (c. 1792)

A poem In advance of Burns Night

https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/heres_a_health_to_them_thats_awa/

#Scottish #literature #18thcentury #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #poem #poetry #liberty #tyranny

Here's a health to them that's awa
Robert Burns

Here's a health to them that's awa,
Here's a health to them that's awa;
And wha winna wish gude luck to our cause,
May never gude luck be their fa'!
It's gude to be merry and wise,
It's gude to be honest and true;
It's gude to support Caledonia's cause,
And bide by the buff and the blue.

Here's a health to them that's awa,
Here's a health to them that's awa,
Here's a health to Charlie, the chief o' the clan,
Altho' that his band be sma'!
May Liberty meet wi' success!
May Prudence protect her frae evil!
May tyrants and tyranny tine i' the mist,
And wander their way to the devil!

Here's a health to them that's awa,
Here's a health to them that's awa;
Here's a health to Tammie, the Norlan' laddie,
That lives at the lug o' the law!
Here's freedom to them that wad read,
Here's freedom to them that wad write!
There's nane ever fear'd that the truth should be heard,
But they whom the truth wad indite.

Here's a health to them that's awa,
Here's a health to them that's awa;
Here's chieftain M'Leod, a chieftain worth gowd,
Tho' bred amang mountains o' snaw;
Here's friends on baith sides o' the Forth,
And friends on baith sides o' the Tweed;
And wha wad betray old Albion's right,
May they never eat of her bread!

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9d

George Douglas Brown (1869–1902) was born #OTD, 26 January – best known for his 1901 novel THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS:

“…the TRAINSPOTTING of its day… an angry young man’s response to the misrepresentation of contemporary Scottish life”

A 🎂 🧵

1/7

https://list.co.uk/news/39535/george-douglas-brown-the-house-with-the-green-shutters-1901

#Scottish #literature #20thcentury #modernism #postmodernism

Book cover

THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS

Cover image: A small window in a pale cream-coloured wall, with green shutters. One is half open, but we can only see darkness inside. In the foreground, a red-headed postman in a blue uniform, his eyes and mouth wide open in shock and horror, whirls away from the window, his body twisting as he turns and flees from what he has seen within.

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342d

#OTD in 1920.

An inaugural meeting of the Bloomsbury Group's Memoir Club is arranged by Mary MacCarthy in London.

Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, and Lytton Strachey.

Virginia Woolf at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89
John Maynard Keynes:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/6280
E. M. Forster:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/975
Lytton Strachey:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/576

#books #bloomsbury #literature

Left to right: Lady Ottoline Morrell, Maria Nys (neither members of Bloomsbury), Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell.

Lady Ottoline Morrell – A patron of the arts and literature, she was known for her connections with the Bloomsbury Group but was not a formal member. She is elegantly dressed, reflecting her aristocratic background.

Maria Nys – A Belgian woman who later married Aldous Huxley, she was also not a member of the Bloomsbury Group but was part of their social circle.

Lytton Strachey – A writer and critic, famous for his ironic biographies and a key member of Bloomsbury. He is typically depicted with his distinctive beard and lean, intellectual look.

Duncan Grant – A prominent painter and designer, he was deeply associated with Bloomsbury and had a long relationship with fellow member Vanessa Bell.

Vanessa Bell – A painter and interior designer, sister of Virginia Woolf, and a central figure in the Bloomsbury Group. She is likely dressed in an artistic, bohemian style.

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342d

"The only thing that we know is that we know nothing — and that is the highest flight of human wisdom."
Book V, Ch. I

In February 1865.

Publication of Leo Tolstoy's "1805", an early version of War and Peace, begins in the magazine Russkiy Vestnik. The version that was published in Russkiy Vestnik had a very different ending from the version eventually published under the title War and Peace in 1869.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_and_Peace

War and Peace at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/2600

#books #literature

Title page of Volume Six (том шестой) of a later (1909) reprinting of War and Peace.

The text is in Russian Cyrillic script, with a mix of bold, serifed fonts that convey a sense of authority and importance. The title "Война и мир" (War and Peace) is likely prominently displayed in a larger font size.

The words "Том шестой" (Volume Six) are clearly printed, usually below the title, indicating its place in a multi-volume set.

"Л. Н. Толстой" (L. N. Tolstoy) is included, typically in a smaller or similarly bolded font.

At the bottom of the page, the publisher's name, city, and year of publication (1909) are printed. Possible location include Moscow, as this was one of the key publishing hubs in Russia.

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364d

#OTD in 1936.

Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times opened in New York City.

During a European tour promoting City Lights, Chaplin got the inspiration for Modern Times from both the lamentable conditions of the continent through the Great Depression, along with a conversation with Mahatma Gandhi in which they discussed modern technology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Times_(film)

Books about or by Charlie Chaplin at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=charlie+chaplin&submit_search=Search

#books #literature #cinema

Original poster for Charlie Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times.

The artwork features Chaplin in his iconic role as the Tramp, wearing overalls and holding two large wrenches, symbolizing his struggle against industrialization and modern labor conditions.

The poster prominently displays Chaplin’s name in bold red and white lettering, emphasizing his star power.

The film's title, Modern Times, is written in a stylized, industrial-themed font.

The bottom of the poster credits Chaplin as the writer, director, and producer, and it notes the film's release through United Artists.

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10d

Today is Burns' birthday, let's celebrate!

'There's no other poem like it': Why this Robert Burns classic is a masterpiece

Tam O'Shanter is a rip-roaring tale of witches and alcohol, but it has hidden depths. On Burns Night this Sunday – and 235 years after the poem was published in 1791 – Scots everywhere may well be treated to a masterwork with a unique, universal appeal.

By Nicholas Barber

https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20260122-why-this-robert-burns-poem-is-a-masterpiece

Tam O'Shanter at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25733

#books #literature #poetry

Fronstispiece of the book Tam O' Shanter. by Robert Burns.

Decorations by Harry L. Miller.

Published by The Saalfield Publishing Company.

The artwork is done in a highly decorative, ornate, and gothic style, with intricate linework. The entire page is framed by a border made of twisting thorny branches, leaves, and vines. The illustration has a dark fairy-tale and folkloric atmosphere.

The border contains small human and supernatural figures, animals, and symbolic elements: A small seated figure near the top left; Hanging figures or effigies suspended from branches; Witch-like and goblin-like creatures placed around the frame; Small animals such as cats or owls, enhancing the eerie tone; The thorny branches curve around to form an elaborate rectangular frame.

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/25733/pg25733-images.html

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341d

"Thus the wise and worthy singer
Sings not all his garnered wisdom;
Better leave unsung some sayings
Than to sing them out of season."
Epilogue, line 20

#OTD in 1835.

The Finnish language epic poetry Kalevala, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from oral sources, is first published in the Grand Duchy of Finland, becoming influential in the Fennoman movement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalevala

Kalevala at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/5186

#books #literature #poetry

Inside front title page of The "Old" Kalevala, Finnish national epos, collection of old Finnish poems, by Elias Lönnrot. First edition; volume 1, 1835.

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341d

Anactoria is a woman mentioned in the work of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who wrote in the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE. Sappho names Anactoria as the object of her desire in a poem numbered as fragment 16. Another of her poems, fragment 31, is traditionally called the "Ode to Anactoria", although no name appears in it.

Algernon Charles Swinburne wrote a long poem, "Anactoria", published in his 1866 collection Poems and Ballads.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anactoria

#books #literature #poetry

Sappho and Alcaeus (1881), painted by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Anactoria's name is visible near the middle of the painting.

The scene is set in a marble amphitheater overlooking the sea, with lush pine trees framing the background.

Alcaeus, seated to the right, is playing a kithara (a type of lyre) and singing, clad in a pinkish tunic with golden sandals. He appears engaged in performance, his fingers on the strings, as he sings to an enraptured audience.

Sappho, seated on a stone bench to the left, leans forward with her chin resting on her hand, listening intently. She wears a flowing pale green gown and a dark headband. A small altar-like table in front of her holds a laurel wreath, possibly a prize for poetic excellence.

Behind Sappho, a group of women, possibly her companions or disciples, are dressed in elegant, classical garments and adorned with floral crowns.

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10d

Robert Burns and Mary, Queen of Scots: how the poet shaped the enduring cultural legacy of the executed monarch

The queen was the source of much debate among 18th-century thinkers.

by Kate Kane

https://theconversation.com/robert-burns-and-mary-queen-of-scots-how-the-poet-shaped-the-enduring-cultural-legacy-of-the-executed-monarch-273950?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Weekender%20-%203653437321&utm_content=The%20Weekender%20-%203653437321+CID_43c6452557555cbd4df21443bb065cc9&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk

Robert Burns at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/583

#books #literature #poetry

Portrait of Burns by Alexander Nasmyth, 1787, Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

This half-length portrait of Burns, framed within an oval, has become the most well-known and widely reproduced image of the famous Scottish poet. Nasmyth's painting, commissioned by the publisher William Creech, was to be engraved for a new edition of Burn's poems. He is shown fashionably dressed against a landscape, evoking his rural background in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns and Nasmyth had become good friends, having been introduced to one another in Edinburgh by a mutual patron, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton. Nasmyth, pleased to have recorded Burns' likeness convincingly, decided to leave the painting in a slightly unfinished state.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns#/media/File:PG_1063Burns_Naysmith.jpg

François Clouet - Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-87)

Mary wears a pink gown decorated with vertical gold striping and small jeweled embellishments. The bodice is tightly fitted and fastened down the center with a line of pearls or gemstone buttons. A crisp white ruff collar frames her neck. Her sleeves are full and carefully tailored.

Her hair is light brown and drawn back smoothly, partially covered by a jeweled headband adorned with pearls. She wears modest jewelry, including a pearl necklace, small earrings, and a ring. Her hands are delicately posed at her waist, fingers gently touching.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_Scots#/media/File:Fran%C3%A7ois_Clouet_-_Mary,_Queen_of_Scots_(1542-87)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

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10d

“On the dirt roads of Arkansas I first met Robert Burns…”

Currently on the BBC iPlayer: writer, poet, & activist Dr Maya Angelou goes on a pilgrimage to the home of Robert Burns (originally broadcast in 1996 to mark the bicentenary of Burns’s death)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0013vcs

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #MayaAngelou #BurnsNight #poetry #romanticism #18thcentury

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10d

I murder hate by flood or field,
Tho’ glory's name may screen us;
In wars at home I’ll spend my blood—
Life-giving wars of Venus.
The deities that I adore
Are social Peace and Plenty;
I’m better pleas’d to make one more,
Than be the death of twenty…

—Robert Burns, “I Murder Hate”

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #poetry #romanticism #18thcentury

I Murder Hate
Robert Burns

I murder hate by flood or field,
Tho’ glory’s name may screen us;
In wars at home I’ll spend my blood—
Life-giving wars of Venus.
The deities that I adore
Are social Peace and Plenty;
I’m better pleas’d to make one more,
Than be the death of twenty.

I would not die like Socrates,
For all the fuss of Plato;
Nor would I with Leonidas,
Nor yet would I with Cato:
The zealots of the Church and State
Shall ne’er my mortal foes be;
But let me have bold Zimri’s fate,
Within the arms of Cozbi!

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10d

Dear Robert Burns,

You skipped the big town streets just like I done, you ducked the crosstown cop just like I ducked, you dodged behind a beanpole to beat the bigtime dick and you very seldom stopped off in any big city where the rigged corn wasn’t drying nor the hot vine didn’t help you do your talking…

“To That Man Robert Burns”
—Woody Guthrie, June 9, 1947
Published in Woody Guthrie, Born To Win (Macmillan, 1965)

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #WoodyGuthrie

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10d

From 2020 – Prof Kirsteen McCue, Prof Nigel Leask, & Dr Craig Lamont discuss the importance of the Kilmarnock edition of POEMS, CHIEFLY IN THE SCOTTISH DIALECT for Burns, & the significance of the copy of the volume donated by Craig Sharp to Glasgow University’s Centre for Robert Burns Studies

@litstudies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1LzFCI1bNs&feature=youtu.be

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #poetry #romanticism #18thcentury #BookHistory

Edited 10d ago

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10d

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee…

—Robert Burns
published in SELECTED POEMS & SONGS (OUP, 2013)

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/selected-poems-and-songs-9780199682324

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #poetry #romanticism #18thcentury #song #folksong #lovesong

Robert Burns
“Ae Fond Kiss”

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee.
Who shall say that fortune grieves him,
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerfu’ twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne’er blame my partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy;
But to see her was to love her;
Love but her, and love forever.
Had we never lov’d sae kindly,
Had we never lov’d sae blindly,
Never met—or never parted—
We had ne’er been broken-hearted.

Fare thou weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love, and Pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, Alas! for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee.

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10d

My Son, these maxims make a rule,
An’ lump them aye thegither;
The Rigid Righteous is a fool,
The Rigid Wise anither…

—Robert Burns, “Address to the Unco Guid, or the Ridgidly Righteous”

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #poem #poetry #18thcentury #humour

Address to the Unco Guid, or the Ridgidly Righteous
Robert Burns

My Son, these maxims make a rule,
An’ lump them aye thegither;
The Rigid Righteous is a fool,
The Rigid Wise anither:
The cleanest corn that ere was dight
May hae some pyles o’ caff in;
So ne’er a fellow-creature slight
For random fits o’ daffin.
—Solomon, Eccles. 7. 16

O ye wha are sae guid yoursel’,
Sae pious and sae holy,
Ye’ve nought to do but mark and tell
Your neibours’ fauts and folly!
Whase life is like a weel-gaun mill,
Supplied wi’ store o’ water;
The heaped happer’s ebbing still,
An’ still the clap plays clatter.

Hear me, ye venerable core,
As counsel for poor mortals
That frequent pass douce Wisdom’s door
For glaikit Folly’s portals:
I, for their thoughtless, careless sakes,
Would here propone defences—
Their donsie tricks, their black mistakes,
Their failings and mischances.

Ye see your state wi’ theirs compared,
And shudder at the niffer;
But cast a moment’s fair regard,
What maks the mighty differ;
Discount what scant occasion gave,
That purity ye pride in;
And (what’s aft mair than a’ the lave),
Your better art o’ hidin.

Think, when your castigated pulse
Gies now and then a wallop!
What ragings must his veins convulse,
That still eternal gallop!
Wi’ wind and tide fair i’ your tail,
Right on ye scud your sea-way;
But in the teeth o’ baith to sail,
It maks a unco lee-way.

See Social Life and Glee sit down,
All joyous and unthinking,
Till, quite transmugrified, they’re grown
Debauchery and Drinking:
O would they stay to calculate
Th’ eternal consequences;
Or your more dreaded hell to state,
Damnation of expenses!

Ye high, exalted, virtuous dames,
Tied up in godly laces,
Before ye gie poor Frailty names,
Suppose a change o’ cases;
A dear-lov’d lad, convenience snug,
A treach’rous inclination—
But let me whisper i’ your lug,
Ye’re aiblins nae temptation.

Then gently scan your brother man,
Still gentler sister woman;
Tho’ they may gang a kennin wrang,
To step aside is human: ‍‍
One point must still be greatly dark,—
The moving Why they do it;‍‍
And just as lamely can ye mark,
How far perhaps they rue it.

Who made the heart, ’tis He alone
Decidedly can try us;
He knows each chord, its various tone,
Each spring, its various bias:
Then at the balance let’s be mute,
We never can adjust it;
What’s done we partly may compute,
But know not what’s resisted.

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10d

O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us
An’ foolish notion:
What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,
And ev’n Devotion!

—Robert Burns, “To a Louse”
from Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect: The Luath Kilmarnock Edition, illustrated by Bob Dewar

https://luath.co.uk/products/poems-chiefly-in-the-scottish-dialect?variant=42807652581526

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #poem #poetry #18thcentury #humour

To a Louse, On Seeing one on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church
Robert Burns

Ha! whare ye gaun, ye crowlan ferlie!
Your impudence protects you sairly:
I canna say but ye strunt rarely,
Owre gawze and lace;
Tho’ faith, I fear ye dine but sparely,
On sic a place.

Ye ugly, creepan, blastet wonner,
Detested, shunn’d, by saunt an’ sinner,
How daur ye set your fit upon her,
Sae fine a Lady!
Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner,
On some poor body.

Swith, in some beggar’s haffet squattle;
There ye may creep, and sprawl, and sprattle,
Wi’ ither kindred, jumping cattle,
In shoals and nations;
Whare horn nor bane ne’er daur unsettle,
Your thick plantations.

Now haud you there, ye’re out o’ sight,
Below the fatt’rels, snug and tight,
Na faith ye yet! ye’ll no be right,
Till ye’ve got on it,
The vera topmost, towrin height
O’ Miss’s bonnet.

My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose out,
As plump an’ gray as onie grozet:
O for some rank, mercurial rozet,
Or fell, red smeddum,
I’d gie you sic a hearty dose o’t,
Wad dress your droddum!

I wad na been surpriz’d to spy
You on an auld wife’s flainen toy;
Or aiblins some bit duddie boy,
On ’s wylecoat;
But Miss’s fine Lunardi, fye!
How daur ye do ’t?

O Jenny dinna toss your head,
An’ set your beauties a’ abread!
Ye little ken what cursed speed
The blastie’s makin!
Thae winks and finger-ends, I dread,
Are notice takin!

O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us
An’ foolish notion:
What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,
And ev’n Devotion!

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10d

Ellisland, 1791

Dear Sir:

Thou eunuch of language; thou Englishman, who never was south the Tweed; thou servile echo of fashionable barbarisms; thou quack, vending the nostrums of empirical elocution; thou marriage-maker between vowels and consonants, on the Gretna-green of caprice…

—Robert Burns, Letter to a critic
via @lettersofnote

https://news.lettersofnote.com/p/thou-pickle-herring-in-the-puppet

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #18thcentury #LettersofNote #correspondence #letters #critics #insults

Ellisland, 1791

Dear Sir:

Thou eunuch of language; thou Englishman, who never was south the Tweed; thou servile echo of fashionable barbarisms; thou quack, vending the nostrums of empirical elocution; thou marriage-maker between vowels and consonants, on the Gretna-green of caprice; thou cobler, botching the flimsy socks of bombast oratory; thou blacksmith, hammering the rivets of absurdity; thou butcher, embruing thy hands in the bowels of orthography; thou arch-heretic in pronunciation; thou pitch-pipe of affected emphasis; thou carpenter, mortising the awkward joints of jarring sentences; thou squeaking dissonance of cadence; thou pimp of gender; thou Lyon Herald to silly etymology; thou antipode of grammar; thou executioner of construction; thou brood of the speech-distracting builders of the Tower of Babel; thou lingual confusion worse confounded; thou scape-gallows from the land of syntax; thou scavenger of mood and tense; thou murderous accoucheur of infant learning; thou ignis fatuus, misleading the steps of benighted ignorance; thou pickle-herring in the puppet-show of nonsense; thou faithful recorder of barbarous idiom; thou persecutor of syllabication; thou baleful meteor, foretelling and facilitating the rapid approach of Nox and Erebus.

R.B.

Robert Burns | Letter to a critic, 1791 | The Works of Robert Burns, Volume 4

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338d

#OTD in 1924.

Seán O'Casey's drama Juno and the Paycock opens at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. It is set in the working-class tenements of Dublin in the early 1920s, during the Irish Civil War period.

It is the second of his "Dublin Trilogy" – the other two being The Shadow of a Gunman (1923) and The Plough and the Stars (1926).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_and_the_Paycock

#books #literature #drama #theatre

Poster for the 1930 film “Juno and the Paycock” (alternate title “The Shame of Mary Boyle”).

Since it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on Seán O’Casey’s acclaimed play, the poster have been designed in the early sound era’s style, featuring bold typography and theatrical imagery.

A strong central image, possibly depicting key characters like Juno Boyle (a struggling mother) and Captain Boyle (her irresponsible husband).

A somber or dramatic color scheme reflecting the film’s serious tone.

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10d

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an’ a’ that;
The coward slave—we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Our toils obscure an’ a’ that,
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The Man’s the gowd for a’ that.

—Robert Burns

https://poets.org/poem/mans-man

#Scottish #literature #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #poem #poetry #18thcentury #equality

A Man’s a Man for a’ That
Robert Burns

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an’ a’ that;
The coward slave—we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Our toils obscure an’ a’ that,
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The Man’s the gowd for a’ that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an’ a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man’s a Man for a’ that:
For a’ that, and a’ that,
Their tinsel show, an’ a’ that;
The honest man, tho’ e’er sae poor,
Is king o’ men for a’ that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca’d a lord,
Wha struts, an’ stares, an’ a’ that;
Tho’ hundreds worship at his word,
He’s but a coof for a’ that:
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
His ribband, star, an’ a’ that:
The man o’ independent mind
He looks an’ laughs at a’ that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an’ a’ that;
But an honest man’s aboon his might—
Guid faith, he maunna fa’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
Their dignities an’ a’ that;
The pith o’ sense, an’ pride o’ worth,
Are higher rank than a’ that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a’ that,
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
It’s coming yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.

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338d

#OTD in 1875.

Bizet's Carmen premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, with mezzo-soprano Célestine Galli-Marié in the title role. It is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen

Carmem at IMSLP:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Carmen_(Bizet,_Georges)

#art #music #literature

Lithograph of act 1 in the premiere performance of Bizet's Carmen, by Pierre-Auguste Lamy, 1875.

The scene portrays a bustling street in Seville, outside a tobacco factory (indicated by the sign "Fábrica de Tabaco" on the building to the right). The image features a group of women, likely representing the female cigarette factory workers, dressed in traditional Spanish attire with full skirts and shawls.

In the foreground, a seated soldier appears to be engaged with something in his hands, possibly representing Don José, one of the opera’s main characters. The composition includes a large arched bridge in the middle ground, adding depth and perspective, while the background shows classic European architecture with multiple buildings and towers.

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