I am an independent researcher in English and Russian Literature with a successful long term record of publications in peer-reviewed academic journals and websites.
This essay reveals the reasons for the enduring, and mysterious love of the fourteen line sonnet ... more This essay reveals the reasons for the enduring, and mysterious love of the fourteen line sonnet form displayed by many great poets, including Wordsworth who defended it emphatically.
This essays demonstrates the similar Romantic motivations and themes of Wordsworth and Mahler and... more This essays demonstrates the similar Romantic motivations and themes of Wordsworth and Mahler and their particular relevance to the 21st century.
This essay reveals the influence that Erasmus Darwin, Humphry Davy, Coleridge and the Dove cottag... more This essay reveals the influence that Erasmus Darwin, Humphry Davy, Coleridge and the Dove cottage "Gang" ( as Coleridge called them) had on Wordsworth and his poem "The Barberry-Tree". In the essay an obscure joke about light in the poem is revealed as well as the importance of the phenomena of light in Wordsworth's work in general. Published by Edinburgh University Press DOI: 10.3366/rom.2014.0189
This academically published essay shows for the first time why Wordsworth's Daffodils flashed upo... more This academically published essay shows for the first time why Wordsworth's Daffodils flashed upon the inward eye. Published by The Wordsworth Circle journal, The University of Chicago Press https:doi.org/10.1086/TWC48020110
As promised by his Amoretti sonnet 75, Edmund Spenser immortalized his loved one, Elizabeth Boyle... more As promised by his Amoretti sonnet 75, Edmund Spenser immortalized his loved one, Elizabeth Boyle, by extensive and ingenious name play in a number of sonnets. This is revealed here for the first time after 400 years by the author's published essay in the journal, Spenser Studies, of 2008. By this immortalization Spenser followed precedents laid down by Petrarch, Ronsard and Sidney, amongst others.
This essay demonstrates, for the first time, after a lapse two hundred years, the source of Words... more This essay demonstrates, for the first time, after a lapse two hundred years, the source of Wordsworth's lines, 'They flash upon that inward eye' which is found in his famous 'Daffodils' poem, 'I wandered lonely as a cloud' .
This essay draws attention to the largely overlooked relationship between Wordsworth's famous 'Da... more This essay draws attention to the largely overlooked relationship between Wordsworth's famous 'Daffodils' poem and the little known 'The Barberrry-Tree'. A new light is cast on the famous poem.
This essay reveals for the first time the full meaning of the concluding word 'piety' in Wordswor... more This essay reveals for the first time the full meaning of the concluding word 'piety' in Wordsworth's famous poem 'The Rainbow'.
The development of Wordsworth's spiritual belief, as symbolised by the Primrose, is traced in thi... more The development of Wordsworth's spiritual belief, as symbolised by the Primrose, is traced in this essay.
Shakespeare deliberately linked his two musical sonnets by numbering them in a 1 : 2 harmonic ser... more Shakespeare deliberately linked his two musical sonnets by numbering them in a 1 : 2 harmonic series, four octaves apart, i.e. 8 to 128. This was in accordance with Pythagorean theory of harmony of which he demonstrated awareness in the famous Lorenzo and Jessica scene near the end of "The Merchant of Venice". Sonnet 8 plays on octave concord. Sonnet 128 plays on the unharmonious sequence of 12 semitones, which "confound" but which make up the octave, followed by the final desired "kiss" of the octave 8. Number 8128 is by, no accident, one of the revered and rare Pythagorean perfect numbers.
Shakespeare was inspired by and followed some of the wording of Psalms 146 and 147 when writing h... more Shakespeare was inspired by and followed some of the wording of Psalms 146 and 147 when writing his pair of sonnets under those numbers.
By deliberately numbering sonnets 12, 60 and 126 of his sequence Shakespeare emphasised his repe... more By deliberately numbering sonnets 12, 60 and 126 of his sequence Shakespeare emphasised his repeated poetic stands against the destructive effects of Time. In doing so he displayed characteristics which had been displayed in Renaissance, Mannerist art and followed numerological precedents which were present in Renaissance literature.
Although he had a good knowledge of English, Pushkin read Shakespeare in French translation befor... more Although he had a good knowledge of English, Pushkin read Shakespeare in French translation before commencing Eugene Onegin. There is ample evidence that he was impressed by Shakespeare's plays and that he had read the Sonnets. His closest friend Delvig, a fellow student, had composed a sonnet about his own beloved. Pushkin's Eugene Onegin owes a debt to Shake-speares Sonnets, both in form and substance, one which has not previously been noticed by literary critics.
Chaucer, Wyatt, Surrey, Spenser, Shakespeare, Jonson and the Italian painter Guilio Campi were co... more Chaucer, Wyatt, Surrey, Spenser, Shakespeare, Jonson and the Italian painter Guilio Campi were conscious of the symbolic importance of Pythagorean music theory as well as of the Empedoclean concept of concordia discors (the harmony of discord). Accordingly they chose at times to give theme and structure to their work in such ways as to comply with seemingly cosmic laws as elucidated by the Pythagoreans and Empedocles and in order to reflect the macrocosm - microcosm equation which was widely accepted in the Renaissance. In doing so Chaucer, Surrey, Shakespeare and Campi exploited the symbolism of the game of chess in particular, and all of them exploited occasionally the symbolism of the Octave.
Shakespeare's sonnet 88 contains a tennis metaphor of winning which changes the tone of the sonne... more Shakespeare's sonnet 88 contains a tennis metaphor of winning which changes the tone of the sonnet and which signals a change of tone and mood in the sequence. Thereafter the speaker becomes less subservient and more openly critical of the addressee, eventually becoming his mortal equal and moral superior in sonnet 126
Shakespeare wrote Sonnet 88 under its number deliberately in order to reflect its adversarial the... more Shakespeare wrote Sonnet 88 under its number deliberately in order to reflect its adversarial theme and in order to point up his covert "duble vantage" win in the psychological game, following an implied score at tennis at deuce of 8 - 8. This sonnet heralds a change of mood on the part of the speaker from subservience, then to equality and then eventual to superiority in relation to the addressee of the Fair Youth sonnets
The frequent reading and hearing of his name in Psalm 46 when he was a boy had a profound effect ... more The frequent reading and hearing of his name in Psalm 46 when he was a boy had a profound effect on the development of Shakespeare's ego.
This essay demonstrates, for the first time, how a paper published in 1762 on the subject of Flas... more This essay demonstrates, for the first time, how a paper published in 1762 on the subject of Flashing Flowers, written by Elizabeth Christina Linnaeus, daughter of Carl Linnaeus the famous botanist, profoundly influenced William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, via the books of Erasmus Darwin.
This essay reveals the reasons for the enduring, and mysterious love of the fourteen line sonnet ... more This essay reveals the reasons for the enduring, and mysterious love of the fourteen line sonnet form displayed by many great poets, including Wordsworth who defended it emphatically.
This essays demonstrates the similar Romantic motivations and themes of Wordsworth and Mahler and... more This essays demonstrates the similar Romantic motivations and themes of Wordsworth and Mahler and their particular relevance to the 21st century.
This essay reveals the influence that Erasmus Darwin, Humphry Davy, Coleridge and the Dove cottag... more This essay reveals the influence that Erasmus Darwin, Humphry Davy, Coleridge and the Dove cottage "Gang" ( as Coleridge called them) had on Wordsworth and his poem "The Barberry-Tree". In the essay an obscure joke about light in the poem is revealed as well as the importance of the phenomena of light in Wordsworth's work in general. Published by Edinburgh University Press DOI: 10.3366/rom.2014.0189
This academically published essay shows for the first time why Wordsworth's Daffodils flashed upo... more This academically published essay shows for the first time why Wordsworth's Daffodils flashed upon the inward eye. Published by The Wordsworth Circle journal, The University of Chicago Press https:doi.org/10.1086/TWC48020110
As promised by his Amoretti sonnet 75, Edmund Spenser immortalized his loved one, Elizabeth Boyle... more As promised by his Amoretti sonnet 75, Edmund Spenser immortalized his loved one, Elizabeth Boyle, by extensive and ingenious name play in a number of sonnets. This is revealed here for the first time after 400 years by the author's published essay in the journal, Spenser Studies, of 2008. By this immortalization Spenser followed precedents laid down by Petrarch, Ronsard and Sidney, amongst others.
This essay demonstrates, for the first time, after a lapse two hundred years, the source of Words... more This essay demonstrates, for the first time, after a lapse two hundred years, the source of Wordsworth's lines, 'They flash upon that inward eye' which is found in his famous 'Daffodils' poem, 'I wandered lonely as a cloud' .
This essay draws attention to the largely overlooked relationship between Wordsworth's famous 'Da... more This essay draws attention to the largely overlooked relationship between Wordsworth's famous 'Daffodils' poem and the little known 'The Barberrry-Tree'. A new light is cast on the famous poem.
This essay reveals for the first time the full meaning of the concluding word 'piety' in Wordswor... more This essay reveals for the first time the full meaning of the concluding word 'piety' in Wordsworth's famous poem 'The Rainbow'.
The development of Wordsworth's spiritual belief, as symbolised by the Primrose, is traced in thi... more The development of Wordsworth's spiritual belief, as symbolised by the Primrose, is traced in this essay.
Shakespeare deliberately linked his two musical sonnets by numbering them in a 1 : 2 harmonic ser... more Shakespeare deliberately linked his two musical sonnets by numbering them in a 1 : 2 harmonic series, four octaves apart, i.e. 8 to 128. This was in accordance with Pythagorean theory of harmony of which he demonstrated awareness in the famous Lorenzo and Jessica scene near the end of "The Merchant of Venice". Sonnet 8 plays on octave concord. Sonnet 128 plays on the unharmonious sequence of 12 semitones, which "confound" but which make up the octave, followed by the final desired "kiss" of the octave 8. Number 8128 is by, no accident, one of the revered and rare Pythagorean perfect numbers.
Shakespeare was inspired by and followed some of the wording of Psalms 146 and 147 when writing h... more Shakespeare was inspired by and followed some of the wording of Psalms 146 and 147 when writing his pair of sonnets under those numbers.
By deliberately numbering sonnets 12, 60 and 126 of his sequence Shakespeare emphasised his repe... more By deliberately numbering sonnets 12, 60 and 126 of his sequence Shakespeare emphasised his repeated poetic stands against the destructive effects of Time. In doing so he displayed characteristics which had been displayed in Renaissance, Mannerist art and followed numerological precedents which were present in Renaissance literature.
Although he had a good knowledge of English, Pushkin read Shakespeare in French translation befor... more Although he had a good knowledge of English, Pushkin read Shakespeare in French translation before commencing Eugene Onegin. There is ample evidence that he was impressed by Shakespeare's plays and that he had read the Sonnets. His closest friend Delvig, a fellow student, had composed a sonnet about his own beloved. Pushkin's Eugene Onegin owes a debt to Shake-speares Sonnets, both in form and substance, one which has not previously been noticed by literary critics.
Chaucer, Wyatt, Surrey, Spenser, Shakespeare, Jonson and the Italian painter Guilio Campi were co... more Chaucer, Wyatt, Surrey, Spenser, Shakespeare, Jonson and the Italian painter Guilio Campi were conscious of the symbolic importance of Pythagorean music theory as well as of the Empedoclean concept of concordia discors (the harmony of discord). Accordingly they chose at times to give theme and structure to their work in such ways as to comply with seemingly cosmic laws as elucidated by the Pythagoreans and Empedocles and in order to reflect the macrocosm - microcosm equation which was widely accepted in the Renaissance. In doing so Chaucer, Surrey, Shakespeare and Campi exploited the symbolism of the game of chess in particular, and all of them exploited occasionally the symbolism of the Octave.
Shakespeare's sonnet 88 contains a tennis metaphor of winning which changes the tone of the sonne... more Shakespeare's sonnet 88 contains a tennis metaphor of winning which changes the tone of the sonnet and which signals a change of tone and mood in the sequence. Thereafter the speaker becomes less subservient and more openly critical of the addressee, eventually becoming his mortal equal and moral superior in sonnet 126
Shakespeare wrote Sonnet 88 under its number deliberately in order to reflect its adversarial the... more Shakespeare wrote Sonnet 88 under its number deliberately in order to reflect its adversarial theme and in order to point up his covert "duble vantage" win in the psychological game, following an implied score at tennis at deuce of 8 - 8. This sonnet heralds a change of mood on the part of the speaker from subservience, then to equality and then eventual to superiority in relation to the addressee of the Fair Youth sonnets
The frequent reading and hearing of his name in Psalm 46 when he was a boy had a profound effect ... more The frequent reading and hearing of his name in Psalm 46 when he was a boy had a profound effect on the development of Shakespeare's ego.
This essay demonstrates, for the first time, how a paper published in 1762 on the subject of Flas... more This essay demonstrates, for the first time, how a paper published in 1762 on the subject of Flashing Flowers, written by Elizabeth Christina Linnaeus, daughter of Carl Linnaeus the famous botanist, profoundly influenced William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, via the books of Erasmus Darwin.
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Published by Edinburgh University Press DOI: 10.3366/rom.2014.0189
Published by Edinburgh University Press DOI: 10.3366/rom.2014.0189