weekly posts on literature, languages, and learning
As of 2019, May 21 is observed as the International Tea Day. Joining the observances, in this post we’ll be reading Edmund Waller’s short poem in praise of this wonderful drink with such a rich history. Edmund Waller (1606–1687) was an English politician and poet, very popular during his lifetime but now considered one of …
Looking for some peace and quiet? Robert Frost’s poem ‘A Prayer in Spring’ just might give you some inspiration. As I often mention in my poetry posts, try to read this poem out loud—it has a great rhythm that you might completely miss out on if you read it silently. And that would be unfortunate, …
In this post we’ll travel to the time of the English Renaissance, with a jolly little music piece written by Thomas Morley. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, Morley (1557–1602) was a true Renaissance figure: a composer, organist, music theorist… It was largely thanks to him that the Italian madrigals became so popular in England, adding …
Continue reading "‘Now Is the Month of Maying’ by Thomas Morley"
"We translate more easily than we know our gratitude to God into our admiration of ourselves." Hugh Walpole’s 1922 novel The Cathedral is one of the best works of this, now sadly and unjustly neglected, author. Regular readers of the Grammaticus blog hopefully haven’t missed the December 2022 release of his short ghost story The …
Continue reading "Book review: ‘The Cathedral’ by Hugh Walpole"
The Weekend Listener is a monthly list of noteworthy podcasts and radio recordings, old and new, curated for your listening pleasure. For more listening tips please search the website for previous instalments. LANGUAGE The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Edward Sapir, American anthropologist and linguist Also known as the hypothesis of linguistic relativity, the Sapir-Wharf hypothesis posits that …
William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) was one of the most important American poets of the 20th century: a modernist of the imagist kind, he was known for using simple and colloquial language to express his ideas—a feature many critics now consider typical of modern American poetry. This can be contrasted with the modernists such as T. …
Continue reading "‘Spring Storm’ by William Carlos Williams"
Robert Seymour Bridges was a British poet and the Poet Laureate of the UK from 1913 to 1930. Originally a doctor, he had to abandon his medical practice due to poor health. He spent most of his life in rural Berkshire near Oxford, dedicated to writing and literary studies. Robert S. Bridges (1844–1930) The poem …
Continue reading "‘So sweet love seemed that April morn’ by Robert Bridges"
The Weekend Listener is a monthly list of noteworthy podcasts and radio recordings, old and new, curated for your listening pleasure. For more listening tips please search the website for previous instalments. LANGUAGE How language affects thought Photo by David Cassolato on Pexels.com Do people who speak different languages think differently? Is there evidence for …
Originally published in 1846, Life is a three-stanza poem by the eldest of the famous Brontë sisters, Charlotte. It appeared in their first, self-published, collection of works which—unpromisingly—sold only two copies. However, only a year later Charlotte managed to get her novel Jane Eyre published, and the rest is history, as they say. Charlotte Brontë …
At the very beginning of spring, in this post I’d like to share with you a poem by Thomas Nashe, a prominent English poet and playwright of the Elizabethan era. Titled ‘Spring, the sweet spring’ after its first and final lines, the poem celebrates the loveliness and joyful nature of the season. It actually comes …
Continue reading "‘Spring, the sweet spring’ by Thomas Nashe"
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