Monday 25 May 2020

THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR

Merlin introduces Galahad to the Round Table. BnF Français 343.

King Arthur, the mythological figure associated with Camelot, may have been based on a 5th to 6th century British warrior who staved off invading Saxons.  Read here.

Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer whose identity remains uncertain, but whose name is famous as that of the author of Le Morte Darthur, the first prose account in English of the rise and fall of the legendary king Arthur and the fellowship of the Round Table.

King Arthur Wall Tapestry | The Tapestry Shop

Arthur was the first born son of King Uther Pendragon and heir to the throne. However these were very troubled times and Merlin, a wise magician, advised that the baby Arthur should be raised in a secret place and that none should know his true identity. Continue reading here.

Saturday 16 May 2020

REVISING BALLADS

Scarborough Fair: A Traditional Yorkshire Ballad – Part II ...

A ballad is a type of poem that tells a story and was traditionally set to music. English language ballads are typically composed of four-line stanzas that follow an ABCB rhyme scheme.  Read here.
Its distinctive style crystallized in Europe in the late Middle Ages and persists to the present day in communities where literacy, urban contacts, and mass media have little affected the habit of folk singing. Read here.


"Scarborough Fair," popularized in the United States by the 1960s singer-songwriting duo Simon & Garfunkel, is an English folk song about a market fair that took place in the town of Scarborough in Yorkshire during medieval times. Read here

Sunday 10 May 2020

SHAKESPEARE PODCASTS

7 Books You May Not Realize Were Influenced By Shakespeare

Staging Shakespeare is series of video commentaries on performing and directing Shakespeare including extracts of some plays.
Click here  and here.
Here you can find brand new audio versions of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, plus documentaries from the brightest minds on the Bard’s life and work.

Friday 1 May 2020

MAY

Roses in the Memorial Garden beside the Bamberg Gate, Powerscourt ...

"Fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves;
And mid-May's eldest child,
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves."

John Keats