Poetry · Chapter
A Bequest to Music explained
A brief chapter in which a man declares 'Let music flourish!' and dies, after which a grand symphony of lawyers begins, their chins creating melodious thunders.
What happens
A brief chapter in which a man declares 'Let music flourish!' and dies, after which a grand symphony of lawyers begins, their chins creating melodious thunders.
Themes in this chapter
Art and Criticism
The chapter celebrates music as an art form, with the dying man's bequest to music and the subsequent symphonic tribute by lawyers.
Mortality and Regret
The chapter opens with a death scene, where the final words of the dying man are a command for music to flourish.
Key passages
“Let music flourish! So he said and died.”
He declared that music should thrive, and then he passed away.
The dying man's final bequest is for music to prosper.
“The grand old lawyers, chinning on their chins!”
The esteemed lawyers create music by humming or singing with their chins.
A humorous image of lawyers producing a symphony through chin movements.