"What the Thunder Said" Annotations
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(→Lines 428-430, Purgatorio, Pervigilium Veneris, "El Desdichado") |
(→Lines 428-430, Purgatorio, "Pervigilium Veneris," "O Swallow, Swallow," "El Desdichado") |
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According to Eliot's note, it comes from the Latin poem the [[''Pervigilium Veneris'']]. Because the town of Amyclae was silent, and there had been false alarms about enemy attacks, when the enemy did come to attack, the city fell because no one was willing to break the silence. This reinforces Eliot's duty to call attention to the danger of the time. | According to Eliot's note, it comes from the Latin poem the [[''Pervigilium Veneris'']]. Because the town of Amyclae was silent, and there had been false alarms about enemy attacks, when the enemy did come to attack, the city fell because no one was willing to break the silence. This reinforces Eliot's duty to call attention to the danger of the time. | ||
| − | "O swallow swallow" many think, refers to Tennyson's poem [["O Swallow, Swallow"]]. | + | |
| + | "O swallow swallow" many think, refers to Tennyson's poem [["O Swallow, Swallow"]]. However, aside from the title, it does not seem to have much in common. | ||
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| + | '''Line 430''' | ||
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| + | Eliot refers to French poet Gerard de Nerval's poem [["El Desdichado"]] (1853). | ||
===Lines 431-432=== | ===Lines 431-432=== | ||
