tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post5444574517405620056..comments2024-03-23T20:37:37.891-07:00Comments on First Known When Lost: Late MacNeice: "Outdoors The Wind. Indoors The Locked Heart And The Lost Key."Stephen Pentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-33450061302428617202013-12-07T22:06:49.644-08:002013-12-07T22:06:49.644-08:00Anonymous: I had never thought of that before! Bu...Anonymous: I had never thought of that before! But I can see how it could work that way. I think. I wouldn't put it past him to have planned it that way. Thank you very much for sharing that possibility -- it adds even more to a poem that, as you say, is indeed "hauntingly brilliant."Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-9613693431963065212013-12-05T07:49:00.926-08:002013-12-05T07:49:00.926-08:00An observation on the hauntingly brilliant "F...An observation on the hauntingly brilliant "Figure of Eight". <br /><br />I may be stating the obvious here, but do you see that the rhyming scheme actually forms a figure of eight.<br /><br />That is, draw three dots in a line, on a page. These represent the "a", "b" and "c" of the rhyming scheme. Now, draw a line, starting from a, through each dot, following the form of the rhyming scheme.<br /><br />That is: " a b c b a c."<br /><br />So starting from a, along to b, along to c, then loop back to b, back to, then loop back around toward c.<br /><br />Hey presto. You now have a figure of eight. The symbol of infinity. <br /><br />Man's a genius!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-49399055120378564982013-01-01T13:01:54.152-08:002013-01-01T13:01:54.152-08:00william todd: thank you very much for visiting, an...william todd: thank you very much for visiting, and for your thoughts on "Figure of Eight." I agree with you: I think that it is one of MacNeice's finest poems.<br /><br />Thanks again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-34524869663557801182012-12-30T11:43:44.188-08:002012-12-30T11:43:44.188-08:00Figure of eight is a superb poem. It demonstrates ...Figure of eight is a superb poem. It demonstrates how a poem can encapsulate so much in so few words because the words and the form have been carefully chosen. Youth where everything seems possible and old age where the final destination looms. There is so much to say about this poemAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02550974035445425213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-28188232461378310872010-12-20T22:40:27.158-08:002010-12-20T22:40:27.158-08:00Thank you for stopping by again, zmkc.
I have not...Thank you for stopping by again, zmkc.<br /><br />I have not had a chance to visit Sandham Memorial Chapel yet -- it must be beautiful. It is on my list of things to do when I visit England -- as well as visiting the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-89057558331158274952010-12-20T02:52:25.820-08:002010-12-20T02:52:25.820-08:00I very much liked the poems - plus the Stanley Spe...I very much liked the poems - plus the Stanley Spencer picture, which I hadn't seen before. I wonder if you've been to the chapel in Hampshire where his war murals are.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-42777569458219749022010-12-15T10:51:53.331-08:002010-12-15T10:51:53.331-08:00Pomposa: it is always good to hear from you. Welco...Pomposa: it is always good to hear from you. Welcome back -- it sounds like you took an interesting excursion.<br /><br />I'm glad that you like the MacNeice poems. Thank you for visiting again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-14011069581703538492010-12-15T10:29:57.291-08:002010-12-15T10:29:57.291-08:00I've just returned from three weeks of working...I've just returned from three weeks of working on a barge, must of the time in sub-zero temperatures (no “garrulous tides” but plenty of gushing locks!). It's good to be home but your first choice sums up perfectly how one can actually miss things like extreme cold. <br />Thank you for posting these two excellent poems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com