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Category Archives: English Literature
Two Greek Syllables in Edith Wharton
I have just uploaded my one published article on English literature, “Two Greek Syllables in Edith Wharton’s ‘The Pelican’”, one of her best short stories, with a bonus prelude on the mention of Quintius (?) Curtius in her very first … Continue reading
Posted in Culture: Fiction, English Literature, Nachleben, Orbilius, Publications
Tagged Curtius, Edith Wharton, Lacus Curtius
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Question for Donne Scholars
Though too lazy to look up examples, I know John Donne punned on his last name and its homophone, the participle of ‘did’. Did he ever pun on the Italian homograph ‘donne’ = ‘ladies’? The meaning would certainly suit a … Continue reading
Marring Marlowe: A Low Pun in Edward II?
Contemporary humanists often seem to operate on the principle that any possible pun in Shakespeare and his contemporaries is real or intended (loaded word!) or somehow present to the alert reader, inevitably adding to the meaning of the passage. It … Continue reading
“I’ll put her to her pension”: A Mad World, My Masters I.ii.66
One of the more difficult passages in Middleton’s play is the soliloquy of Harebrain (aka Shortrod) as the “pure virgin” (actually a courtesan) fetches his wife (I.ii.62-69): This is the course I take; I’ll teach the married man A new … Continue reading
Posted in Curculio: English, English Literature, Etymology, POTIS
Tagged Middleton, Samuel Beckett, Schopenhaur
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Lies Necessary and Unnecessary
A real liar does not tell wanton and unnecessary lies. He tells wise and necessary lies. It was not necessary for Gahagan to tell us once that he had seen not one sea-serpent but six sea-serpents, each larger than the … Continue reading
Posted in Culture: Fiction, English Literature
Tagged Paradox, What I've Been Reading
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Who Invented Ten-Sided Dice?
Who invented the ‘d10’ ten-sided dice used in many modern board games? I don’t know, but Shakespeare seems to presume their existence in the last scene of Timon of Athens (variously numbered 5.4, 5.5, or 17), lines 31-34, where the … Continue reading
Faustian Latin VIII – Faustus’ Oath
It seems best to divide the text (I.2.230-34) into convenient pieces, number them for easy reference (and speaking), and interleave text and translation, with all the notes below: 1. Sint míhi déi Acheróntis propítii! May the gods of Acheron be … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama, Faust
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Faustian Latin VII – some bits I missed, one of them not Latin
I will get to Faustus’ oath soon, but in the mean time here are three bits I missed. At some point, I hope to put these all together on one page, in order, with line references to the various editions, … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama, Faust
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Faustian Latin VI – Faustus (all except the oath)
Most of the Latin in Doctor Faustus is spoken by Faustus himself, and some he glosses himself: I.1.35: Béne dissérere est fínis lógices. In the next line, Faustus asks “Is to dispute well logic’s chiefest end?” which just rephrases this … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama, Faust
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Faustian Latin V – Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles has three bits of Latin: II.1.429: Solámen míseris sócios habuísse dolóris. Solamen is ‘consolation’ – relative, not interrogative – miseris is ‘to/for the wretched/miserable’, socios (related to ‘social, society, associate’) is ‘companions, associates, allies’ (plural direct object), habuisse is … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama, Faust
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Faustian Latin German – Wagner again
Should Faustus’ servant’s name be pronounced like Richard Wagner’s last name (VAHG-ner) or like Honus or Robert or Lindsay Wagner’s (WAG-ner)? I’ve heard it both ways in productions. Would Marlowe have known the basic German pronunciation? Presumably: between his mysterious … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama, Faust
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Faustian Latin IV – Wagner
Wagner has has two bits of Latin, but each raises a mildly tricky question of pronunciation: I.4.338: Qui míhi discípulus. Kwee MEE-hee diss-KIP-uh-luss. Qui is ‘who’ – relative, not interrogative – mihi is ‘to/for me’, and discipulus is ‘student, pupil’ … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama, Faust
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Faustian Latin III – 1st Scholar
The 1st Scholar has only one tiny bit of Latin: I.1.186: Sic próbo. SEEK PRO-bo. Sic is ‘thus’ – still used in square brackets to show that something inside quotation marks was misspelled by the author, not the editor. Probo … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama
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Faustian Latin II – The Friars
When Faustus and Mephistophilis disrupt the Pope’s dinner in Act III, the monks who curse them have two bits of Latin, the first repeated half a dozen times: III.1.831: Màledícat Dóminus. This is basically three and a half trochees: Mah-leh-DEE-caht … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama, Faust
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Faustian Latin I – General Remarks
A few months ago, I promised some grad students putting on a production of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus that I would help them with the Latin. Now that I’m back from Germany – more on that later – it’s time I … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, English Literature
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Early Modern English Drama, Faust
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Curculio 5: Worst. Endearment. Ever.
Peter Davidson’s Poetry and Revolution: An Anthology of British and Irish Verse 1625-1660 (Oxford, 1998) includes a rather dull love-poem (number 36) by “T.C.”, most likely Thomas Cary, “Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Charles I” (516). The untitled poetic dialogue … Continue reading
Posted in Curculio: English, English Literature, Etymology, Orbilius
Tagged Peloponnese, Thomas Cary
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Walter Scott Anagrammatized
Laudator Temporis Acti has an interesting post on Sir Walter Scott’s library. If you haven’t already read it, go and do so before continuing. Done? OK, let’s continue. I was naturally curious about the anagram, wondering how Scott’s library motto, … Continue reading
Posted in English Literature
Tagged Anagrams, Latin Mottos, Laudator Temporis Acti, Libraries, Walter Scott
5 Comments
Curculio 4: A Sly Joke in The Alchemist?
Kastril or Kestrel, the ‘angry boy’ of Ben Jonson’s Alchemist, calls his sister his ‘suster’ and says ‘kuss’ for ‘kiss’.1 It is not clear whether this is meant to represent a particular regional dialect, a generalized country accent, or his … Continue reading
Posted in Blackfriars, Curculio: English, English Literature
Tagged Ben Jonson, Early Modern English Drama, Scatology, The Alchemist, Tyler Moss
1 Comment
Best Match of Editor’s Name and Subject?
I’m torn between the Kiss Catullus – the online Catullus edited by Daniel Kiss (link) – and the Hankey Othello (link). Can anyone think of a third? Possibly the worst match between performer and subject (onomastically, I mean – he … Continue reading
Posted in English Literature, German, Jokes, Latin Literature
Tagged Bible, Catullus, Luther, Othello, Psalms, Shakespeare
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Curculio 2: ‘Pervert the Present Wrath’: a Conjecture on Cymbeline
I am experimenting with publishing original scholarly notes on this site. My first attempt, a week ago, was a single page on the structure of Silius Italicus’ Punica. I have just uploaded a PDF file of my second paper, two … Continue reading
