AlessandraTanti cari auguri đ di Buon Compleanno đđđđđ al poeta decadente: Lord Alfred Douglas detto familiarmente âBosie â. Noi oscarian siamo team Robbie Ross! đđ„łđâïžđłïžâđđŹđ§. #lordalfreddouglas #bosie
grammaticusâIn Summerâ by Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred âBosieâ Douglas was an English writer, born in Powick, Worcestershire, in 1870. Today often mentioned in connection with his stormy love affair with Oscar Wilde, his biography reads like an exciting novel, filled with unexpected twists and turns â from a religious conversion to controversial political activities, and everything in between. His poetry itself, however, has been long neglected.
Lord Alfred DouglasIn this post weâll have a look at his poem titled âIn Summerâ, considered one of his works with obvious Wildean influences. Itâs a relatively short and very sensual poem celebrating the joy and excitement of a summer romance. Thereâs a strong physical aspect of love and passion, mirroring the fleeting nature of summer â but thereâs also an intimation of something more enduring.
If youâre an English language learner, donât miss the simple vocabulary exercise found below the poem (answer key available).
There were the black pine trees,And the sullen hills
Frowning; there were trills
Of birds, and the sweet hot sun,
And little rills
Of water, everyone
Singing and prattling; there were bees
Honey-laden, tuneful, a song
Far-off, and a timid air
That sighed and kissed my hair,
My hair that the hot sun loves.
The day was very fair,
There was wooing of doves,
And the shadows were not yet long.
And I lay on the soft green grass,
And the smell of the earth was sweet,
And I dipped my feet
In the little stream;
And was cool as a flower is cool in the heat,
And the day lay still in a dream,
And the hours forgot to pass.
And you came, my love, so stealthily
That I saw you not
Till I felt that your arms were hot
Round my neck, and my lips were wet
With your lips, I had forgot
How sweet you were. And lo! the sun has set,
And the pale moon came up silently.
VOCABULARY EXERCISE
Find the words in the poem with the following meaning:
- musical, melodious
- short and high-pitched, repeated notes
- quietly and carefully
- gloomy, depressed, bad-tempered
- a small stream
- fine, beautiful
- talking in a silly way
- easily frightened, shy and nervous
To check your answers, click here.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The Unofficial Website of Lord Alfred âBosieâ Douglas
Was Bosie Douglas the worst boyfriend ever?
NOTES
Iâm a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.
If you wish to receive new content from my blog â as soon as itâs published â please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.
To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!
COVER IMAGE CREDIT
Cortney Chummoungpak via Unsplash
#EnglishLiterature #EnglishVocabulary #learningEnglish #literature #LordAlfredDouglas #love #OscarWilde #poem #poetry #readingComprehension #readingSkills #romance #summer #Uranian
Lesering.de
damian entwistle
John Tog
