Educational Type Poetry Thread

[Angeline]

I've been reading lots of poems by lots of writers for lots of years (not that I'm old, mind you, that is not the point of this thread). It occurred to me recently that there are so many wonderful poems that have quirky, interesting stories around them. Here's an example:

Jenny Kiss'd Me

by Leigh Hunt (1784-1841)

Jenny kiss'd me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in!
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,
Say that health and wealth have miss'd me,
Say I'm growing old, but add,
Jenny kiss'd me.

Isn't that a sweet poem?

It seems that "Jenny" who was a young woman, 15 or 16 years young I believe, when she bestowed her spontaneous kiss on the old poet grew up to become Jenny Churchill. That's right, the mother of Mr. Winston "We are the captains of our fate" Churchill. I find it an interesting perspective--Churchill's mother as a babe! lol

Do you know any odd poetry stories? Share them here! Be sure to post the poem as well as the story.

 

[WickedEve]

I never would have thought of Churchill's mom as being a kisser. lol Excellent and interesting idea for a thread, Angeline.

 

[Star At Sunrise]

Spooky

I guess I'm asking for it when I write the word "synchronicity" in a poem. People can subconciously start looking for coincidences in certain events. I think a lot of it is crap, really, like seeing things in the clouds. The human mind is an amazing thing, seeing connections that are really just coincidences.

But this, (cough) is a little weird!

Okay, I wrote a poem (inspired by Angeline) where I mentioned "synchronicity"

I wrote a seperate poem that referred to a book that I wrote as a gift.

In that book, unknown to anyone but myself, I quoted one poem. :"Jenny Kissed Me"

And now Angeline is mentioning that poem in this thread.

Spooky! But it's true!

(Runs out and bets on the Lotto)

Cool thread, Ang!!!

 

[WickedEve]

Unfinished poem, Byron and drama queen. Monstrous inspiration?

Excerpt from Coleridge's Christabel:

But through her brain, of weal and woe,
So many thoughts moved to and fro,
That vain it were her lids to close;
So half-way from the bed she rose,
And on her elbow did recline.
To look at the lady Geraldine.
Beneath the lamp the lady bowed,
And slowly rolled her eyes around;
Then drawing in her breath aloud,
Like one that shuddered, she unbound
The cincture from beneath her breast:
Her silken robe, and inner vest,
Dropped to her feet, and full in view,
Behold! her bosom and half her side-
A sight to dream of, not to tell!
O shield her! shield sweet Christabel!

This poem of suggested seduction, jealousy, betrayal, and laced with sexual innuendos was published unfinished in 1816. Similarities were seen between Christabel and works by Byron. Speaking of Byron, he recited this poem one night to friends and houseguests Percy and Mary Shelley. It's said that Percy, perceiving his wife as the villainess of the poem, caused a scene (in other words, he had a hissy fit.) Anyway, I read that it's possible that Percy's little drama could have contributed to feelings of guilt in Mary that later contributed to story ideas. And it was only a few days after this incident that Mary began to write her little tale of reanimated flesh. Though she was inspired by a discussion of "whether scientists could galvanize a corpse of manufactured humanoid" and a nightmare, could there still be a possible and very slight connection between Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Christabel and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?