Poetry · Chapter
Endnotes explained
This chapter provides a collection of endnotes referencing classical, biblical, and literary sources, as well as historical figures and events from British and Norse mythology.
What happens
This chapter provides a collection of endnotes referencing classical, biblical, and literary sources, as well as historical figures and events from British and Norse mythology. It includes citations from Virgil, Dante, Petrarch, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, and others, along with notes on the Wars of the Roses, the Tudor line, and the Gothic mythology of Odin, Lok, and the Valkyriur.
Themes in this chapter
Poetry and Artistic Legacy
Extensive references to poets and poetic traditions from Homer, Pindar, Dante, Petrarch, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, and Cowley, with commentary on the progress of poetry from Greece to England.
Suffering and Adversity
Notes on the cruel deaths of Edward II, Richard II, and the secret murders of Henry VI, Clarence, Edward V, and Richard Duke of York.
Melancholy and Reflection
Quotations and notes on mortality, transience, and the power of harmony to calm the soul, including Petrarch's sonnets and the image of the day's departure.
Nature and the Sublime
Descriptions of Snowdon, eagles' nests, and the natural imagery in Virgil, Milton, and the Gothic mythology of Niflheimr and the Valkyriur.
Characters to notice
- Edward I
Referenced in notes on Snowdon and the castle of Conway built by King Edward the First.
- Margaret of Anjou
Noted as a woman of heroic spirit who struggled to save her husband and crown.
- Richard III
Mentioned with the silver boar as his badge, known as 'the Boar'.
- Helen
Referenced as Eleanor of Castile, who died a few years after the conquest of Wales.
- Taliessin
Chief of the Bards, flourished in the VI Century, his works still preserved.
- Prophetess
Odin is mentioned in the context of Gothic mythology and the Valkyriur.
- Lok
Described as the evil Being in chains until the Twilight of the Gods.
- The Valkyriur
Female Divinities, servants of Odin, who select the slain in battle.
Key passages
“And bees their honey redolent of spring.”
Bees produce honey that smells of spring.
Dryden's Fable on the Pythagorean System.
“Madness laughing in his ireful mood.”
Madness laughs in an angry mood.
Dryden's Fable of Palamon and Arcite.
“Nare per sestatem liquidam.”
To swim through the clear summer.
Virgil, Georgic IV 59.
“squilla di lontano Che paia 'l giorno pianger, che si muore.”
A bell from afar that seems to mourn the dying day.
Dante, Purgatorio l. 8.
“Ch' i veggio nel pensier, dolce mio fuoco, Fredda una lingua, e due begli occhi chiusi Rimaner doppo noi pien di faville.”
I see in thought, my sweet fire, a cold tongue and two beautiful closed eyes remaining after us full of sparks.
Petrarch, Sonnet 169.
“paventosa speme.”
Fearful hope.
Petrarch, Sonnet 114.
