by ~Gregg Rowe~
My nightlight flickers like a star:
It dims my life-- I see them now --
I shall leave behind mortal scars;
I'll stop – rest -- with The Golden Bough.
This tome’s given me some insight --
My corpse’s been physically mar,
A temple beaten, Phoenix flight --
My nightlight flickers like a star:
I ride the moon on silver wings,
And dance on Mars, movements of Tao --
Bena sidhe -- melancholic strings --
It dims my life -- to see them now --
In cosmic’s universe I fly --
Shake – kiss the hands of kings and tsars
The prince is home; my end is nigh
I shall leave behind mortal scars;
In my death -- I will be pain free
Yet this life, I will stay to plough
When I hear my final banshee:
I'll stop – rest – at the Golden Bough.
Author notes
bena sidhe --Gaelic spelling of banshee
Definitions of banshee: noun : (Irish folklore) a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
Painting: J.M.W. Turner's painting of the Golden Bough en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Bough incident in the Aeneid en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneid
Contest: Quatrain refrain contest
by Poetprncess Jan 18, 2006
The Quatrain Refrain is a new form I created while working on my second chapbook, Out of the Blue .
Quatrain Refrain
Quatrain Refrain is a new form reminiscent of a quatern. I recently invented this form and was aptly named by Lori Kanter of Mosaic Musings .
The basic form:
QR contains 5 stanzas , each a quatrain (four lines) in either Iambic Pentameter , Iambic Tetrameter or Iambic Trimeter (= either 5 , 4 or 3 da DUMs), following a specific rhyme and REPEAT scheme:
A1 b1 a2 b2
c a c A1
d b d B1
e a e A2
f b f B2
The Golden Bough
From Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Golden_Bough&printable=yesencyclopedia.
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging comparative study of mythology and religion by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (1854-1941), first published in 1890. It was aimed at a broad literate audience raised on tales as told in such publications as Bulfinch's Age of Fable . It offered a modernist approach, discussing religion dispassionately as a cultural phenomenon, rather than from a theological perspective. While the final worth of its contribution to anthropology will be newly evaluated by each generation, its impact on contemporary European literature was unquestionably large.
Subject matter
The Golden Bough attempts to define what almost all primitive religions share with each other, and with modern religions such as Christianity. Its thesis is that ancient religions were fertility cults that centred around the worship of, and periodic sacrifice of, a sacred king, the incarnation of a dying and reviving god, a solar deity who underwent a mystic marriage to a goddess of the earth, and who died at the harvest and who was reincarnated in the spring. Frazer claims that this legend is central to almost all of the world's mythologies. The germ for Frazer's thesis was the pre-Roman priest-king at the fane of Nemi in a sacred wood, who was ritually murdered by his successor:
"When I first put pen to paper to write The Golden Bough I had no conception of the magnitude of the voyage on which I was embarking; I thought only to explain a single rule of an ancient Italian priesthood." ( Aftermath p vi)
The title was taken from an incident in the Aeneid , illustrated in The Golden Bough by the British artist Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851): Aeneas and the Sibyl present the golden bough to the gatekeeper of Hades to gain admission.
Reception
The book scandalized the public upon its first publication, because it included the Christian story of Jesus in its comparative study, thus inviting an agnostic reading of the Lamb of God as a relic of a pagan religion. Frazer removed his analysis of the Crucifixion to a speculative appendix for the third edition, and it was entirely missing from the single-volume abridged edition.
Parts of the book, most notably its discussion of the symbolism of magic, and its elucidation of the concept of sympathetic magic, remain well accepted by scholars today. The larger thesis about dying and reviving gods has not fared as well in the world of anthropology and comparative religion; most contemporary anthropologists have concluded that Frazer overinterpreted his evidence to fit it into the system.
Frazer often reveals a confidence in a linear intellectual progress of mankind to a superior position which anthropologists no longer share. As cultural anthropology has expanded and deepened, many individual conclusions of Frazer's have required revision within local and historical cultural contexts. Modern anthropologists conclude that Frazer placed too much weight on what he called " the essential similarity of man's chief wants everywhere and at all times " (ch. lxix).
William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, T. S. Eliot (in "The Waste Land" ), Robert Graves (see The White Goddess ), Ezra Pound, Mary Renault, Joseph Campbell, and Camille Paglia are but a few authors deeply influenced by The Golden Bough . Its literary impact has given it continued life even as its direct influence in anthropology has waned.
Quotations
"If the test of truth lay in a show of hands or a counting of heads, the system of magic might appeal, with far more reason than the Catholic Church, to the proud motto, Quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus [ "Always, everywhere, and by all" - ed.], as the sure and certain credential of its own infallibility."
(Chapter 4, "Magic and Religion" .)
"The danger, however, is not less real because it is imaginary; imagination acts upon man as really does gravitation, and may kill him as certainly as a dose of prussic acid."
(Chapter 21, "Tabooed Things" .)
Editions of The Golden Bough
First edition , 2 vols., 1890.
Second edition , 3 vols., 1900.
Third edition , 12 vols., 1906-15. The last volume (1915) is an index.
Abridged edition, 1 vol. , 1922. Lady Frazer is thought to have largely compiled this edition, which abridges Frazer's references to Christianity.
Aftermath : A supplement to The Golden Bough , 1937
New abridged edition , edited by Robert Fraser for Oxford University Press, 1994. It restores the material on Christianity purged in the first abridgement. ISBN 0-19-282934-3
Critical analysis of The Golden Bough
The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein returned time and again to The Golden Bough , often enough that his commentaries have been compiled as " Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough ," edited by Rush Rhees, and originally published in 1967, with the English edition following in 1971. [1].
Some modern criticism sets Frazer in a broader context of the history of ideas:
Ackerman, Robert. 2002. The Myth and Ritual School: J.G. Frazer and the Cambridge Ritualists (Theorists of Myth) ISBN 0415939631 The myth and ritual school includes scholars Jane Harrison, Gilbert Murray, F.M. Cornford, and A.B. Cook, who were connecting the new discipline of myth theory and anthropology with the traditional literary classics at the end of the 19th century.
Fraser, Robert. 1990. The Making of The Golden Bough : The Origins and Growth of an Argument (Macmillan, 1990; re-issued Palgrave 2001)
References in popular culture
" The Golden Bough " is referenced in the Nintendo Gamecube game Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem created by Silicon Knights .
In the anime Eureka 7, one character is repeatedly seen reading The Golden Bough .
Jim Morrison used the phrases " Not to touch the Earth/Not to see the Sun " (taken from The Golden Bough 's table of contents) in his The Doors song " Not to Touch the Earth ".
" The Golden Bough " is seen in the film Apocalypse Now as a book on the stack of reading material for Colonel Kurtz, along with Jessie Weston's From Ritual to Romance .
Information from ' The Golden Bough ' was used extensively for the 1973 film about pagan sacrifice, ' The Wicker Man '.
Written January 31st, 2006
In a list
A contest entry
- The Cutting Edge by onerios13.
500 points, ended April 19, 2006, 14 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 31 of 31
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Wow that really was a lot of research you performed for this contest! Your poem came out beautifully. It has been quite a while since I read anything of yours, but now I remember how talented you are. All your words flow together and come out like a song. Thank you for including the explanation, I was very curious about what bena sidhe meant, I do love how gaelic words sound. Good luck in the contest, my turn to post! ^.^
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Hello Vera Rich, Just reading your response to Gregg, I was a little interested in seeing those contests and finding out more on these things you've mentioned. Prior to accepting that the form, in this present state with these set params is a newly established form, I checked with the PSA and several other Poetic Societies and received verification that the present state of "Quatrain Refrain" is not an established form of poetry, as of yet. Perhaps the name has been used for a different form, which right now the check within the Library of congress is still in search for if the 'name' has been used to represent another form.
I would be most grateful if you can point me to these poems so I can get a head's up and give rightful acknowledgement of the form. I would appreciate any help you have to ascertain previous history of this specific form and requirements.
Thank you, Elizabeth -
Greg, it is nice to be reading you again. I had lost track of your intelligent writes. This was a reintroduction to your philosophies and knowledge. My printer is out of commission or I would type this and your comments in their entirety. I agree with you totally but had forgotten The Golden Bough. I'll have to hunt down a copy. I love the Tao, too. Should be the bible for excitable people. Good luck in the contest.
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This is very very beautiful and inspirational Greg. I love that your nature is so spiritual and that you are not afraid to reach out into the unknown because you know that what you'll find there will be beyond your wildest dreams.
I like also that you're very aware of the temporary nature of the realm we're now in. I feel for those who think this is all there is and don't know how they can live with that.
Georgia
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Vera:
It says Quatrain Refrain, please now go talk to the person who created this form (even if it is yourself) ! -
Sorry I misread - or misunderstood - about "quantrains"... However.. a) it certainly does seem to say "quatrain" not "quantrain" in the explanations of this competition and
I do not understand the etymology of "quantrain". "Quatrain" - or more correctly "quattrain" is clearly derived from the Latin "quattuor" (four). "Quantrain" would appear to be derived from Latin "quantus" (modern Italian "quanto") which means "how much?". (Remember the old lady who said there were only too words needed for shopping in an Italian market - "quanto" and "troppo"...
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I agree in this being an amazing write
Josephine.
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WONDERFUL WRITE...I am just sorry that I do not have any applause left..I believe I shall have to bookmark this and try to remember to come back later
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outstanding
a very nice, and an inspiring poem, it touch me.........oh God,
tank you so much........Keep up the GOOD work........ -
nicely written! enjoyed the flow and their is a touch of soft sadness in the words.
indigo -
This is beautiful and you really did your reasearch. Good job!
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This is decent but a little confusing at times. I also noticed one or two spelling errors of the minor kind. The climax is is nice, soft and peaceful as the end of one's life should be! - oce
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amazing
i dont know or should i say didnt know the diffrence between quantrain quatrain or btrain but this poem is exquisite, and thats all that matters to me blessings Linda
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This poem just feels and sounds very rich and antique , sets up such an ambience .
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I believe that life is freedom. you can do n e thing really. death just doesn't seem that great. i would miss too much. everyone says imagine you are in a white room and that ishow it is like in heaven but i don't want it. it semms to lonely.
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AMAZING!!
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I literally had to re-read this because of the subtle impact it gave but more importantly it was very simple for anyone who isn't familiar with what a refrain OR a quatrain is to understand it. Moreover was the initial fact that it took a personal deeper, meaningful part of you (a part that i doubt even you knew) to acknowledge its there. All in all, I felt as though i was smoothly bitchslapped
with this piece.
Rae
RS: Who's your publisher cause i wanna get published too -
i loved the author comments, and the poem brought tears to my eyes. the way you phrase things has a peaceful calm to it, i have never read the golden bough, but your beautiful poem makes me want to. sending you harmony and hope in all things good, and keeping your beautiful words in my heart, rebeka
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hi gregg. this is wonderfull. i dont care in what form you wrote it in. it fits flows and moves with a soft caress of life and death. i admire you and am also glad you still write and never hide from the ultimate truth. death comes. you are and will always be an inspiration.it seems angels find different forms here on earth. yours is still a light for the rest of us..
john -
First you have educated me here and I appreciate it. I am still learning forms and you gave a great description. I have not attempted (well once and failed) forms, I felt so restricted, but you seemed to keep a great flow, and write a beautiful piece following the rules, or what I understood of them, flawlessly. You have my vote,,though I know it doesn't count.
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beautiful form
This is a beautiful form of poetry! The formalness is just so elegant. The wording very well in tune and the flow just great! I really enjoyed this special work of yours. Thank you for sharing it!
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Nice piece, within a difficult form, and great references too. "The Golden Bough" has been sitting on my shelf for over a year now, and while I know a fair bit of what is in it already, I must get down to reading it soon. You've just inspired me
LLLSHJ,
Y. -
Vera: I think your commentis directed at the wrong writer! I wasn't claiming anything -- I just wrote the poem according to the specifics of the contest! I think a more careful reading would show evidence of that. gregg
Edited on Feb 01, 7:29 p.m. because ''. -
Sorry to disillusion you but a) the word "Quatrain" has long existed in poetry and means simply a regular four-lined stanza.
the form of your poem is not new... Back in 1999, MANIFOLD Magazine of New Poetry received, coincidentally and virtually simultaneously, three examples of this form, from three separate poets Bob Newman, Elizabeth Kay and Paul Roche. We then held a competition for poems in this form, which we called a NeKaRo from the names of the aforesaid three poets. I later learned that Paul Roche had written his poem several years earlier. So I do not think that you can claim either uniqueness or priority... Sorry!
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Professional
Thank you so much for the highly educational lesson. I was very impressed with the detailed explanatations. Best of luck in this contest. You did an excellent job! -
whats a bough?
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What an educational lesson you have given us today. Just wonderful. Thanks for the lovely verses as well. Best of luck in this contest.
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Whoa, I definitly could never write a poemw ith that many requirements. Yours sounds very professional. You did wonderfully with the task, I'm very impressed. Nice job!!
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You've met the challenge above and beyond. I am also quite amazed at the information you've presented regarding both the forms requirements and the context and subject matter. I have sat here in admiration of the content and your use of techniques. Good luck in the contest.
Best Regards, Liz -
Another really helpful and insightful author's comments This is quite a sad and dark write Good use of intertexuality here Keep writing, I liked your use of rhyme Wonderful imagery
All the best
Pozo
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Dreamy
First thank you for the wonderful and highly detailed comments.It really helped.A gem of a Poem as you fly through life and time and space,a taste of all that life has to give until you reach that final resting place which is the "The Golden Bough"Exquisite imagery as a beacon in the night to take us through to eternal light.Brilliant.Thank you and very good luck in the Contest.Elizabeth
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