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Sunday 29 March 2009

Meaningful Sunday Poetry Fragment...

quill pen Pictures, Images and Photos


The Bait by John Donne

Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will some new pleasures prove
Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,
With silken lines, and silver hooks.


Pool of Koi Pictures, Images and Photos











John Donne (1572 - 1631)

John Donne's standing as a great English poet, and one of the greatest writers of English prose, is now assured. However, it has been confirmed only in this century. ...No other body of great poetry has fallen so far from favour for so long and been generally condemned as inept and crude. In Donne's own day his poetry was highly prized among the small circle of his admirers, who read it as it was circulated in manuscript, and in later years he gained wide fame as a preacher. For thirty years after his death successive editions of his verse stamped his powerful influence upon English poets. During the Restoration his writing went out of fashion and remained so for several centuries. Throughout the eighteenth century, and for much of the nineteenth century, he was little read. Commentators followed Samuel Johnson, dismissing his work as frigidly ingenious and metrically uncouth. Some scribbled notes by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Charles Lamb's copy of Donne's poems make a testimony of admiration rare in the early nineteenth century. Robert Browning became a known (and wondered-at) enthusiast of Donne, but it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that Donne's poetry was eagerly taken up by a growing band of avant-garde readers and writers. His prose remained largely unnoticed until 1919. (Source)

John Donne Pictures, Images and Photos

25 comments:

Jinksy said...

How clever of you to get a picture of the pond that Boy put his Fish in!

French Fancy... said...

I've never really delved into the Metaphysical poets although I recall having to memorise the poem about the mandrake root at school. Nope, it's definitely the Romantics for me.

The Accidental Fan said...

I love how you always choose the best pictures to set to people's words!

Chairman Bill said...

Something I once wrote for Hay:

Her hair; a sun-flecked field of golden corn, undulating gently in the sway of a balmy summer zephyr.
Her eyes; liquid pools of mesmeric magnetism, beckoning the unwary to step into a world of fantasy.
Her lips; sweet-scented pillows of delight, inviting the narcotic taste thereof - heady with morphia.
Her body; a statuesque Venus, Jupiter’s fair child of love, enchanting all who aspire to her favours.
Lady of my dreams - no plaything she – simply a creature to cherish, to love, to hold for all eternity.

Perhaps I should stick with the day job.

Saz said...

No Bill don't stick with the day job, that is quite sublime and perfect for ME this morning, in this moment...
Fhina, this too is in keeping with my mood this morning, I even posted something a little less shallow than the last few posts.

everyone must be in te same mood...
FFF xx

p.s. thanks for the email, sorry I havent replied, wil do so soon...shouldve broken the back of the work at old address today. Looking forward to a home day alone on Tuesday....talk soon

saz x

French Fancy... said...

That poetry website you got the copy from is a very good one - I often refer to it.

Zuzana said...

I really love that poem. Beautiful thing to read on a Sunday.;)) Hope yours is wonderful.;))

Unknown said...

that made me feel so good- beautiful imagery to back it up xx

DAB said...

Oh, I do like a wee bit of poetry on a Sunday may I be as bold to jot down the following:

A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day

Emily Dickinson

blognut said...

I love these pictures - and I feel just a teensy bit smarter for having read your blog today. Just a teensy bit, because you know what you're working with here, Professor Fhina.

Love to you, Professor and Beautiful Lady.
xo
Bloggus Nuttus

Carolina said...

God I wish someone in this house was a romantic *sigh*

Rosaria Williams said...

Fhina, Donne was my favorite back in college. I like the way you broaden the perspective, fill in the spaces for the reader.

Where is this poetry available?

A Woman Of No Importance said...

Rosaria, to be honest, I almost lifted this piece of writing completely from a site I only just found when I was searching for this piece of Donne's poetry that has stuck with me since College, as he did with you - No real input of mine here today, as I felt this captured Donne as completely as I should wish, and did not want to write a lengthy piece today, just let his meaningful poetry speak for itself - http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=1825

Hope that's helpful! x

Jinksy: I guess I am just lucky like that! ;) x

French Fancy: I had a lecturer who specialised in this era of poetry, so it featured quite a bit in my first year, I must be honest. Donne sang to me, and I hadn't realised that he had fallen out of favour with the literary world, until I read this piece - I just found this site on Thursday - It is a very useful source. I loved Browning, I must admit, such a character, and one of my lecturers used to act out his poems just like he did with his friends - Definitely very dramatic and awe-inspiring! xx

The Accidental Fan: Thankyou, dahlink! x

Chairman BillL Now, this is such a different side to the cat-skinning Chairman we love to growl at - Very lovely, Sir, how skilled you are indeed - I wish my husband could have woo'd me with such poesie... Sigh... He did write some lyrics for me once, 'though - Long, long ago...

Fat, frumpy and fifty... : You are so right, Saz - No worries about the e-mail - I hadn't expected any reply toute de suite - You must be so, so busy with your houses at the mo'!

It is odd how we tend to mirror each others' moods - A little like when women work closely with one another and their moon cycles, etc, begin to synchronize - Incredibly interesting - You take care of yourself, speaks (and hopefully meets too!) soon, Fhi xox

Protege: Thank you, precious Z! Today has been a lovely bright sunny (if cool) day! x

Lisa - Glad you liked it, hon' xo

TOM FOOLERY: I love a little Emily, thank you so! x

Bloggus Nuttus: Bless you, my lovely! You are my daily bit of darling, you are so kind! xox

Carolina: Me too, Caro, me too - My OH is far, far, far from romantic! x

lakeviewer: I responded to you first of all - Just up above - Just so I could cut and paste the link in better. Hope that's okay! x

Liz Wilkey (a.k.a. A Mom on Spin) said...

Frigidly ingenuious and metrically uncouth!!!

We writers are so poorly understood, Fhina, don't you think????

Perhaps someone will resurrect my blog two hundred years from now and see it as the artful thing that it is!

abc said...

I have a book called "Come Live With Me and Be My Love", only it is based on the poem with the same title by Christopher Marlowe. So I was a bit confused, but found out there are really two versions. Interesting to learn and nice to read both pieces.

Unknown said...

Hello Fhina,

Well, I have learnt something today! For me, poetry just has to 'speak to me'. I don't have to understand it. I just have to enjoy the words and if they move me, it must be good!

Woman in a Window said...

Sometimes all that matters is to have a handful of people be touched by what you write. Hopefully he knew that, 'cause what you said to me the other day was so kind. Means a great deal and I thank you, not that that has anything at all to do with Donne.

Kate Coveny Hood said...

Whenever I finish reading one of your posts, I'm reminded of the days that I actually used to read and THINK! There isn't too much poetry in my life these days... But I do appreciate the reminder that there is more to life than the Monday morning commute and shopping at Target.

Anonymous said...

I used to love John Donne in the days when I only read poetry. Thanks for bringing back good memories.

Belle said...

You've inspired me to start reading poetry again. Thank you.

Reasons said...

Thank you Fhina, that started my monday off nicely. Lovely, lovely picture. Have managed to ignore quite a few jobs this morning! A little award awaits you at my place today xxx

Vodka Mom said...

i loved that........I adore poetry AND am fascinated by the story.....

A Woman Of No Importance said...

lizspin: You made me smile so, Liz! I do think our blogs are capturing the Zeitgeist - The things that are important to us, and how we use and explore language - So as pieces of social history maybe folk in the future will find us fascinating - That's if they're not all communicating telepathically by then! x

Marc: Helloooo! I think they were roughly contemporaries, were they not? Marlowe had an incredibly interesting and bizarre life - While Donne grew old, became a cleric and died surrounded by his family, if I remember rightly? I think they all influenced one another as writers, non? Much as we do in Blogland today, methinks!

Derrick: Well, Sir, you bring us much beauty and history, and I have added a little piece of spicy poetry, non?!

Woman in a Window: Bless you for all that you bring to the world of blogging, and more specifically, of writing!

Kate Coveny Hood: Bless you, Kate! I know that writing things such as this is also making me think more than I was used to - It's unearthing snippets of things that once had such meaning to me, which have been subsumed into the world of merely living, if that makes sense - I am very glad you enjoyed it...

ladyfi: Thank you always for stopping by, ladyfi! I know I have neglected poetry for literature for quite some time - And it is more accessible in terms of the time it takes to read it than I ever give it credit for...

Belle: Bless you, Belle!

Reasons to be Cheerful 1,2,3: Thank you so, Reasons, you are a little blogging treasure, surely as eggs is eggs! There is nothing wrong to my mind with ignoring jobs and 'goofing off' as our American cousins call it, non?! xxx

Vodka Mom: Hi you! Thanks for dropping in - I thought I heard the musical clink of Martini glass against Vodka bottle! Bless you for your kindness, VKMom! x

Suldog said...

Donne was a magnificent writer. If people aren't enjoying him as much these days, that's their loss, not his.

RiverPoet said...

Have you ever seen the movie "Wit"? with Emma Thompson? In it she plays a college professor, a scholar of Donne, who is dying of cancer. It's really a beautiful movie because she spends a good deal of time talking to the viewer about Donne and about her experience in the impersonal world of medicine.

Peace - D

Something I wrote earlier...

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