A Trick of Sunlight: Poems

Notes

N O T E S Chèvrefeuille The title refers to the twelfth-century poem of the same name by Marie de France, which uses honeysuckle (chèvrefeuille) and hazel growing together as emblems of the love of Tristan and Isolde. Hérédia José Maria de Hérédia (1842–1905) was born in Cuba; he lived in Paris for most of his life, where he was a leading member of the Parnassian group of poets, so called for their adherence to classical models. Most of his poems are sonnets, which are marked by a scrupulous formal precision united to often extravagant and highly romantic subject matter, much of it drawn from either the Roman past or mythology. The Man from Provins This poem is drawn from an incident briefly recounted in the memoirs of the soldier Jean, sire de Joinville, who had accompanied Louis IX of France, known as Saint Louis, on his crusade to the Holy Land (1248–54). The expedition ended in disaster when Louis’s troops were besieged and then forced to surrender at Damietta in northern Egypt. They were eventually ransomed, and returned home. The man who questions the narrator of the poem, after the king has dismissed him, is Joinville himself. The still largely medieval town of Provins lies southeast of Paris; from having been one of the most important cities in France it began to decline economically in the thirteenth century and never recovered. 51 You are reading copyrighted material published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Unauthorized posting, copying, or distributing of this work except as permitted under U.S. copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. The Old Model’s Advice to the New Model This was written for inclusion in Fashioned Pleasures, a chapbook of sonnets, by different poets, using the rhyme words of Shakespeare’s Sonnet XX. What I Think This poem was written in response to Wendy Cope’s poem of the same name in her book If I Don’t Know (Faber, 2001). Turgeniev and Friends Turgeniev’s mother beat him unmercifully when he was a child. The great love of his life was the French operatic mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot, sister of the famous Malibran. The two girls had been taught to sing by their father, a notoriously violent teacher who beat his pupils, including his daughters, for even trivial mistakes. Cythère Although this was originally the French name for Cytherea, a mythical Island of Love, it was also used by some poets (e.g., Ronsard) for the goddess who presides there, Aphrodite. It is this latter use which is invoked in my poem. Young Scholar Amor de lonh, “love from afar,” is the central concern of much lyrical medieval European poetry. 52 You are reading copyrighted material published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Unauthorized posting, copying, or distributing of this work except as permitted under U.S. copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. “Interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art” The title is a remark by Susan Sontag. Dis’s Defense Dis is the god of the underworld, Hades in Greek mythology. He captured Persephone, the daughter of Zeus, and took her down to his kingdom , where he made her his queen. She returns to the earth every year, and this marks the beginning of spring, but always returns to her consort in Hades for the winter months. William MacGonagall Welcomes the Initiative for a Greater Role for Faith-Based Education William MacGonagall (1825–1902) has the dubious reputation of being “the writer of the worst poetry in English.” His meter is all over the place, and he never saw a sentimental commonplace he didn’t feel was an admirable subject for a poem. 53 You are reading copyrighted material published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Unauthorized posting, copying, or distributing of this work except as permitted under U.S. copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. You are reading copyrighted material published by Ohio University Press/Swallow Press. Unauthorized posting, copying, or distributing of this work except as permitted under U.S. copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. ...