I picked up a copy of Palgrave's famous poetry anthology The Golden Treasury the other week from a local charity shop. It's in brilliant condition too, well it was before I started dog-earing the poems I like! So I'm reading my way through it and pleasantly enjoying Shakespeare's poems in particular, whom I never read enough of. I love this song from The Tempest which is of course an important reference point for Plath -
Full fathom five thy father lies:
of his bones are coral made;
those are pearls that were his eyes:
nothing of him that doth fade,
but doth suffer a sea-change
into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
hark! now I hear them, -
ding, dong, bell.
But even better than reading it is hearing it sung, so gorgeously -
11 comments:
That is my joint favourite piece of Shakespeare! (My other joint favourite is also from The Tempest - Caliban's song.)
And there's a bit of The Waste Land in there as well... everyone's in good company. :)
Having always heard this poem in my head as a sort of shanty, this offers a delightful alternative.
David, I'm ashamed to say I've never actually read The Tempest :O
hi Dick, it is lovely isn't it!
Marion, just been teaching this to the boys!
I love "The Tempest", and was lucky enough to have it as a set text at "O" level, so it's been with me for a long, long time.
Perfect lines that once heard will never leave you.
The Tempest is a favourite Shakespeare play with me. I loved the Peter Greenaway film Prospero's Books, which was based on it, and had music by Michael Nyman. His version of 'full fathom five' gives me goosebumps.
titus, I think they are perfect lines too.
hi colin, I'll have a look out for the film. now to look out my big, fat complete Shakespeare that's well awkward to read from!
I recommend you get a version of it on its own! That was the only way I could. Much easier to read than big, bulky two-columned things.
Alternatively, there is (was) an stop-motion animated version on youtube in about 4 parts. Not all the text, but enough. (I'm currently at work where we can't get youtube... so I can't link. Boo!)
naughty naughty blogging at work!! ;) the youtube version sounds fun!
i think i can imagine you writing that song :-)
lol yes, it's very much my themes isn't it!
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