Lines Inscribed Upon A Cup Formed From A Skull

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Start not—nor deem my spirit fled:
In me behold the only skull
From which, unlike a living head,
Whatever flows is never dull.

I lived, I loved, I quaffed like thee;
I died: let earth my bones resign:
Fill up—thou canst not injure me;
The worm hath fouler lips than thine.

Better to hold the sparkling grape
Than nurse the earthworm’s slimy brood,
And circle in the goblet’s shape
The drink of gods than reptile’s food.

Where once my wit, perchance, hath shone,
In aid of others’ let me shine;
And when, alas! our brains are gone,
What nobler substitute than wine?

Quaff while thou canst; another race,
When thou and thine like me are sped,
May rescue thee from earth’s embrace,
And rhyme and revel with the dead.

Why not—since through life’s little day
Our heads such sad effects produce?
Redeemed from worms and wasting clay,
This chance is theirs to be of use.

Newstead Abbey, 1808.

Footnote: Byron gave Medwin the following account of this cup: – “The gardener in digging discovered a skull that had probably belonged to some jolly friar or monk of the abbey, about the time it was dis-monasteried. Observing it to be of giant size, and in a perfect state of preservation, a strange fancy seized me of having it set and mounted as a drinking cup. I accordingly sent it to town, and it returned with a very high polish, and of a mottled colour like tortoiseshell.” – Medwin’s ‘Conversations’, 1824, p. 87.

kiki

 

George Gordon Byron, commonly known as Lord Byron, was born in London in 1788. Byron is considered one of the greatest British poets, a leading member of the Romantic literary movement, and remains widely read in contemporary times. His most renowned poetic works explore variations on the epic form such as “Don Juan” which is considered an Epic Satire. As a historic figure Byron is remembered for his aristocratic excesses including numerous affairs with men and women, immense debt, and a total lack of regard for finances or decorum of the age. His appreciation for alcohol, as well as life’s darker pleasures, is evident in the featured poem, “Lines Inscribed Upon A Cup Formed From A Skull,” where he relates a mind’s usefulness in death, with joys to be had in life. People, says Byron, are often dull, yet wine never fails to disappoint, and thus the decay of a boring brain can serve a nobler purpose to those still living. Byron ponders the dark impermanence of life and the macabre aftermath of death. What use are people once they have passed? Byron’s impetuous personality plays on the notion of repurposing individuals after death, but also with the notion of wine as an escape and worthy pastime in life. In the line, “The worm hath fouler lips than thine,” he toys with the inevitability of death and grotesque decay as a cavalier occurrence with possibly fruitful outcomes. For Byron, if death must come, then wine drinking is as good a use of any for the parts we leave behind.

This poem was chosen to represent Shenandoah’s recent fascination with all things Noir, ghoulish, skeletal, and indicative of the imminent Halloween season. Byron wrote this poem while living in his mansion, Newstead Abbey, which was previously inhabited by a monastery. Byron’s alcoholism and indebtedness led him to dig across the property for buried treasure possibly left by the monks. Although no treasure was ever found, he did find the monk’s skeletons, specifically a large skull, which he chose to fashion into a wine goblet for his personal use and amusement.

In addition to his poetic work, Byron is also known as a translator, Armenian scholar, world traveler, newspaper editor, and Grecian revolutionary. His travels throughout Europe included a seven-year stint in Italy before championing the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in 1823, for which he is remembered as a national hero. He died only one year later, at the age of 36 from complications of bloodletting, a common practice at the time.


Autumn Song

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Now’s the time when children’s noses
All become as red as roses
And the colour of their faces
Makes me think of orchard places
Where the juicy apples grow,
And tomatoes in a row.

And to-day the hardened sinner
Never could be late for dinner,
But will jump up to the table
Just as soon as he is able,
Ask for three times hot roast mutton–
Oh! the shocking little glutton.

Come then, find your ball and racket,
Pop into your winter jacket,
With the lovely bear-skin lining.
While the sun is brightly shining,
Let us run and play together
And just love the autumn weather.

katherine-mansfield

Katherine Mansfield, a modernist writer, was born in New Zealand in 1888. She spent much of her adulthood, albeit brief, in London, where she wrote much of her poetry and short stories. The year in which this particular poem was written remains unknown, but it was likely first published in Poems, a 1923 collection of poetry comprised after Mansfield’s death by her husband John Middleton Murray. Although much of her work was unpublished at the time of her death, Middleton was nonetheless a prolific writer in her final years and left a lasting legacy in New Zealand, England, and even France.
Although the season began more than two weeks ago, it has only begun to feel like autumn in the past day or so. Katherine Mansfield’s poem feels especially appropriate on crisp days like this, when autumn comes to life. Mansfield’s singsong rhythm in an aabbcc rhyme scheme is reminiscent of childhood. Her title incorporates the two most salient aspects of the poem: its rhythm and rhyme as well as its autumnal subject matter. Through her words, Mansfield brings to life a beautiful image: as the color drains from the trees, color floods our wind-nipped faces and fall fruits and vegetables. Mansfield implores her readers to take advantage of beautiful fall days instead of hibernating, for the sun will soon hide for longer hours at a time; it is wise to absorb its last rays before winter. With her mentions of food, Mansfield notes that autumn is a time for harvest and for feast, for bounty and for sharing.


“Always Act Well the Part that Is Given You.” — Epictetus by Sharon Dolin

 

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Be it fop or magistrate, Wall-Streeter or window

cleaner, stalker or star flower: inhabit it with gusto—

though knowing it’s a role,

an art, may make you cynical or quizzical.

If you’re unsure about your part?

Become a stand-in; as understudy,

you yet may pace the boards. If uncertainty is laced

into the act—as though as street cat you had

to figure whether to leap that ledge

or stay—make uncertainty your role: the half-slipped

mask, hesitant dancer, jittery lover. Rehearse

reluctance with vehemence. The wavering scene

unwaveringly.

 

Published in The Georgia Review Summer 2013 issue.

dolinSharon Dolin, Ph.D. is a Brooklyn, New York-born acclaimed poet and Fulbright scholar. She is the author of five books of poetry and five additional books. She has received degrees from Cornell University and the University of California at Berkeley. She has also taught at Hofstra University and New York University.

The title alone holds a lesson: “Always Act Well the Part That Is Given You.” We are each designated a certain role within society and, considering the importance of these roles, we are charged with the responsibility of conforming to its confines. We must enthusiastically embody our role.

If we don’t understand our role or don’t want to enthusiastically portray it, then we are still responsible for holding a place within the strategically constructed society. We are, then, a “stand-in,” a background actor highlighting the attributes of others. Regardless, within the act of life, we must hold a role at any given time. Some people switch positions but they are never without categorization. While this is the explicit message that Dolin portrays, she finds a way to undercut it with sarcasm. She finds humor in humanity’s willing acceptance of role-play and conformity.

This poem considers society and human submission to it. It provokes personal reflection and inspires individuality both explicitly and implicitly.

Short Author’s Note about “Always Act Well the Part That Is Given You” for Shenandoah:

“This poem is towards the end of a 24-poem series called A Manual for Living. By chance, I picked up Sharon Lebell’s contemporary translation/reworking of the Enchiridion by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, a book that Lebell calls A Manual for Living. I began to write down her chapter headings as a way to launch into my poems. The poems are my attempt to write a somewhat tongue-in-cheek self-help book, which I intended as advice for myself as well as for others.” — SD