I Like This Poem

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Dithyramb



Believe me, together
The bright gods come ever,
Still as of old;
Scarce see I Bacchus, the giver of joy,
Than comes up fair Eros, the laugh-loving boy,
And Phoebus, the stately, behold!

They come near and nearer,
The heavenly ones all--
The gods with their presence
Fill earth as their hall!

Say, how shall I welcome,
Human and earthborn,
Sons of the sky?
Pour out to me--pour the full life that ye live!
What to ye, O ye gods! can the mortal one give?

The joys can dwell only
In Jupiter's palace--
Brimmed bright with your nectar,
Oh, reach me the chalice!

"Hebe, the chalice
Fill full to the brim!
Steep his eyes--steep his eyes in the bath of the dew,
Let him dream, while the Styx is concealed from his view,
That the life of the gods is for him!"

It murmurs, it sparkles,
The fount of delight;
The bosom grows tranquil--
The eye becomes bright.


Friedrich Schiller

[cacian]

pray what does the title mean? :)

[chevalierdelame]

The dithyramb was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.

A nice poem. I have read this poem in another translation, but this translation is better.

[cacian]

The dithyramb was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.

A nice poem. I have read this poem in another translation, but this translation is better.

chevalierdelame thank you :)

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Dithyramb



Believe me, together
The bright gods come ever,
Still as of old;
Scarce see I Bacchus, the giver of joy,
Than comes up fair Eros, the laugh-loving boy,
And Phoebus, the stately, behold!

They come near and nearer,
The heavenly ones all--
The gods with their presence
Fill earth as their hall!

Say, how shall I welcome,
Human and earthborn,
Sons of the sky?
Pour out to me--pour the full life that ye live!
What to ye, O ye gods! can the mortal one give?

The joys can dwell only
In Jupiter's palace--
Brimmed bright with your nectar,
Oh, reach me the chalice!

"Hebe, the chalice
Fill full to the brim!
Steep his eyes--steep his eyes in the bath of the dew,
Let him dream, while the Styx is concealed from his view,
That the life of the gods is for him!"

It murmurs, it sparkles,
The fount of delight;
The bosom grows tranquil--
The eye becomes bright.


Friedrich Schiller

I forgot to write why do I like this poem. :) Because it is so joyful, as the title says. It is full of life and the imagery is so impressive. You can almost feel as if you are there together with them all, taking part in the entire experience the poem is expressing. I can't talk about its poetic tools. It is not so easy, since it is a translation. But, nevertheless, it is obvious that the poet is really great.

You are invited to post a poem that you like and why.

[chevalierdelame]

Of course a Greek hymn is joyful. ‘To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful and delightful to live in, was a mark of the Greek spirit.’ Here's another joyful Greek poem.

Impression De Voyage
The sea was sapphire coloured, and the sky
Burned like a heated opal through the air;
We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair
For the blue lands that to the eastward lie.
From the steep prow I marked with quickening eye
Zakynthos, every olive grove and creek,
Ithaca's cliff, Lycaon's snowy peak,
And all the flower-strewn hills of Arcady.
The flapping of the sail against the mast,
The ripple of the water on the side,
The ripple of girls' laughter at the stern,
The only sounds:- when 'gan the West to burn,
And a red sun upon the seas to ride,
I stood upon the soil of Greece at last!

Oscar Wilde

[cacian]

Of course a Greek hymn is joyful. ‘To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful and delightful to live in, was a mark of the Greek spirit.’ Here's another joyful Greek poem.

Impression De Voyage
The sea was sapphire coloured, and the sky
Burned like a heated opal through the air;
We hoisted sail; the wind was blowing fair
For the blue lands that to the eastward lie.
From the steep prow I marked with quickening eye
Zakynthos, every olive grove and creek,
Ithaca's cliff, Lycaon's snowy peak,
And all the flower-strewn hills of Arcady.
The flapping of the sail against the mast,
The ripple of the water on the side,
The ripple of girls' laughter at the stern,
The only sounds:- when 'gan the West to burn,
And a red sun upon the seas to ride,
I stood upon the soil of Greece at last!

Oscar Wilde
Greece Is that a double entendre for Grease?
not the musical of course. :D

[chevalierdelame]

I shouldn't think so. The soil of Grease?:smilewinkgrin:

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I came like Water, and like Wind I go.

Into this Universe, and Why not knowing
Nor Whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing;
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not Whither, willy-nilly blowing.

What, without asking, hither hurried Whence?
And, without asking, Whither hurried hence!
Oh, many a Cup of this forbidden Wine
Must drown the memory of that insolence

From: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám by Edward FitzGerald

It expresses the conflict between the religious and scientific ways of thinking and although it was written in the Victorian age, it seems to me that it is still current.

[cacian]

I came like Water, and like Wind I go.

Into this Universe, and Why not knowing
Nor Whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing;
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not Whither, willy-nilly blowing.

What, without asking, hither hurried Whence?
And, without asking, Whither hurried hence!
Oh, many a Cup of this forbidden Wine
Must drown the memory of that insolence

From: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám by Edward FitzGerald

It expresses the conflict between the religious and scientific ways of thinking and although it was written in the Victorian age, it seems to me that it is still current.The Rubayait?
do you know what the title means?

[tailor STATELY]

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

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The Rubayait?
do you know what the title means?

Quatrains, strophes with four lines.

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Under the Greenwood Tree by Shakespeare


Under the greenwood tree
Who loves to lie with me,
And tune his merry note
Unto the sweet bird's throat—
Come hither, come hither, come hither!
Here shall he see
No enemy
But winter and rough weather.

Who doth ambition shun
And loves to live i' the sun,
Seeking the food he eats
And pleased with what he gets—
Come hither, come hither, come hither!
Here shall he see
No enemy
But winter and rough weather.

It is a very joyful poem, something like a paradise. No worries, no struggles, just the pleasure of nature. Of course, there is no need to write about the Shakespeare's poetic values. So relaxing.

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Kisses With Eyes Closed

We always dream about kisses together
That I know, and when she bursts into tears
Is she the one I think of?
I always feel
When her blanket slips off at night

Maybe we'll never meet
Sad travellers, us two
But I am with her whenever she wants
And she always comes through the love of any adventuress

Maybe her hair is rich and black
This hair I wish
Oh, her heavy black hair
So many times have brought
Blonde girls at nights hot

Once more, I will close my eyes so
Under the kisses of another woman
While she will be kissing some one else
With her eyes closed
Because she won't be able to wait for me anymore

Endre Ady

I've heard that the poem was written to the poet's never realised love for a certain woman he knew. She was an inspiration for many of his poems. It shows the strenght of love and the silent (but nvertheless audible) sadness for it impossibility of realisation. I think it is beautifully expressed.

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Francesco Petrarca - Sonnet 61


Oh blessed be the day, the month, the year,
the season and the time, the hour, the instant,
the gracious countryside, the place where I
was struck by those two lovely eyes that bound me;

and blessed be the first sweet agony
I felt when I found myself bound to Love,
the bow and all the arrows that have pierced me,
the wounds that reach the bottom of my heart.

And blessed be all of the poetry
I scattered, calling out my lady's name,
and all the sighs, and tears, and the desire;

blessed be all the paper upon which
I earn her fame, and every thought of mine,
only of her, and shared with no one else.


( translated by Mark Musa)

Although written in the 14th century, the poem still has its power and energy. So many poets after Petrarch have been writing in this manner, as eternal as love.