# Epigraph explained — Memoirs of a Midget

> Chapter companion for Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare.

## What happens

The epigraph presents three quotations that evoke themes of wildness, captivity, and the tension between earthly existence and celestial grace, setting a contemplative and somewhat melancholic tone for the book.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature and the Sublime

The epigraph references the orix beast and the dog star, linking natural phenomena to a sense of awe and ritual.

### Solitude and Self-Discovery

The image of a lark in a cage and the soul in the body evokes a sense of imprisonment and longing for transcendence, a key aspect of solitary reflection.

## Key lines

> A wild beast there is in Aegypt, called orix, which the Aegyptians say, doth stand full against the dog starre when it riseth, looketh wistly upon it, and testifieth after a sort by sneesing, a kind of worship.

In Egypt, there is a wild beast called the oryx that, according to the Egyptians, stands facing the rising dog star, gazes intently at it, and through sneezing, offers a form of worship.

_This quotation from Philemon Holland's translation of Pliny introduces a motif of natural reverence and the mysterious connection between creatures and celestial bodies._

> Did’st thou ever see a lark in a cage? Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass; and the heaven o’er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison.

Have you ever seen a caged lark? That is what the soul is like inside the body: this world is just a small patch of grass for it, and the sky above is like a mirror that only shows us how confined our prison truly is.

_From John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi, this simile underscores the theme of spiritual confinement and the painful awareness of one's limitations._

> Provoke them not, fair sir, with tempting words; the heavens are gracious.

Do not provoke them, kind sir, with enticing words; the heavens are merciful.

_This line from Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy advises restraint and acknowledges divine grace, hinting at the dangers of temptation and the hope of celestial benevolence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/epigraph
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- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters