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Showing posts from October, 2008

Summary, Interpretation and Analysis of Dryden's Song for Saint Cecilia’s Day

--> The origin of music has always remained a mystery though it has always attracted man towards itself since the time immemorial. So myths and legends were born to justify the origination of music. Saint Cecilia was such a legendary figure of the second century, who was said to have established music as a divine art on earth. Though her connection with music is quite uncertain, there are legends of her attracting an angel down to earth by singing and she even came to be spoken of the inventor of the organ. Dryden wrote Song for Saint Cecilia’s Day for the performance with orchestra to celebrate the festival of Saint Cecilia’s Day in 1687. It is an interesting fact that the greatest English composer of the day Henry Purcel composed the music for the song. Saint Cecilia was a Christian figure, but while dealing with the theme, Dryden has drawn upon the pagan philosophical doctrine of Pythagoras to explain the power of music. The concluding chorus is, however, Christian in spi...

Text, Critical Interpretation, Summary and Analysis of Shelley’s To a Skylark

To a skylark P. B. Shelley Hail to thee, blithe spirit! Bird thou never wert, That from heaven, or near it Pourest thy full heart In profuse strain of unpremeditated art. Higher still and higher From the earth thou springest Like a cloud of fire; The blue deep thou wingest, And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest. In the golden lightning Of the sunken sun, O'er which clouds are brightning, Thou dost float and run; Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun. The pale purple even Melts around thy flight; Like a star of heaven, In the broad daylight Thou art unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight. Keen as are the arrows Of that silver sphere, Whose intense lamp narrows In the white dawn clear, Until we hardly see, we feel that it is there. All the earth and air With thy voice is loud, As, when night is bare, From one lonely cloud The moon rains out her beams, and heaven is overflow'd. W...