The individual in this painting appears utterly wretched, a little like myself, however, I'm not feeling wretched because I've committed fratricide, thankfully - our subject here though, has. So, for your edification, read on... Julius Paulsen’s painting, Cain, is an unsettling, morose portrayal of one of the most infamous characters in biblical lore. It is … Continue reading Cain: A Descent into Darkness
Elizabeth Gaskell’s Ruth: A Perilous Slog Through Moral Terrain
Drop, drop, slow tears!And bathe those beauteous feet,Which brought from heavenThe news and Prince of peace.Cease not, wet eyes,For mercy to entreat:To cry for vengeanceSin doth never cease.In your deep floodsDrown all my faults and fears;Nor let His eyeSee sin, but through my tears. Phineas Fletcher At the heart of Ruth, published in 1853, is the tale … Continue reading Elizabeth Gaskell’s Ruth: A Perilous Slog Through Moral Terrain
Through the Peephole: Henri Barbusse’s The Inferno
Lately, I find myself immersed in a sea of existentialist musings, possibly reflecting my own melancholic state of mind and sombre outlook on life. And the work I'm about to detail is hard to pin down to exactly which literary genre this introspective fluff belongs to - Existentialist? Modernist? Philosophical Fiction? Psychological Fiction? Perhaps it … Continue reading Through the Peephole: Henri Barbusse’s The Inferno
The Grand Theater of Election Season: Where Truth Takes a Holiday
Today (well, technically yesterday) in the UK, a General Election took place, sending every media outlet into a frenzy over the early exit polls – an embarrassing spectacle to behold. This cringeworthy display is matched only by the mendacious politicians clawing their way to the apex of power, peering down their ever-lengthening noses to patronise … Continue reading The Grand Theater of Election Season: Where Truth Takes a Holiday
A Not-So-Pan-tastic Review: Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan
Pan teaching his eromenos, the Shepherd Daphnis, to play his Pan flute. Arthur Machen's The Great God Pan is often hailed as a classic of horror literature, revered for its ability to induce existential dread and psychological unease. But let's face it: it’s also a tale that might make you chuckle at its melodrama, archaic … Continue reading A Not-So-Pan-tastic Review: Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan
