ART HISTORY ADVENT CALENDAR - DAY 19

 Week of Creativity

19th of December - Praise of Literature

https://www.loc.gov/resource/highsm.02251/?st=image&r=0.257,0.202,0.25,0.371,0

I. GREECE

Sing, oh Muse,

of the fury of Achilles son of Peleus,

of the Trojan Horse,

of how Odysseus outfoxed both

Polyphemus and Circe,

of the torrid love of Sappho,

of Cloudcuckoo Land and of the croaking Frogs

on the River Styx.

II. ITALY

Sing, oh Muse,

of Petrarca's passionate love for Laura,

of descents to the infernal depths,

of ascents up Purgatory and beyond...

Of Renzo and Lucia, the lovers separated,

and of Sicilian nobility...

Of young heroes like the Little Lombard Lookout

or Marco crossing the Pampas.

III. ENGLAND

Oh for a Muse of Fire

to sing of sallow princes and star-crossed lovers,

of jealous husbands and merry wives,

of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future,

of virtuous orphans who get what they deserve,

of madwomen in attics and wardrobes to Narnia,

and nargles in the mistletoe.