[lbo-talk] Looking for a sailing poem

[Carrol Cox]

At least one episode in the Odyssey is a pure sea poem. Penelope's certainty
that by going to sea Telemachus has doomed himself. And that gives a strong
tincture of the sea to the whole epic. The sea is chaos and death.

Carrol

-----Original Message-----
From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
On Behalf Of JOANNA A.
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 1:36 PM
To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Looking for a sailing poem

Yes, yes. Epics are poetry. Thought of that right after I hit send. 
Agreed about Odyssey. And the bit from Virgil is lovely. I actually flashed
on translating that passage a million years ago.

Joanna

----- Original Message ----- 
> Yes and no. There's novels and epics, but no poetry. 

Epics aren't poetry? And which ones are about sailing -- are you thinking of
the Odyssey? I'd've said that was more of a road movie that happens to take
place on water. 

The sailing is incidental, and we don't hear much about it. 

Though come to think of it, Virgil is good on sailing, if only in spots,
e.g. Book VII: 

At pius exsequiis Aeneas rite solutis,
aggere composito tumuli, postquam alta quierunt aequora, tendit iter velis
portumque relinquit. 
Adspirant aurae in noctem nec candida cursus Luna negat, splendet tremulo
sub lumine pontus. 
Proxima Circaeae raduntur litora terrae, dives inaccessos ubi Solis filia
lucos adsiduo resonat cantu tectisque superbis urit odoratam nocturna in
lumina cedrum, arguto tenuis percurrens pectine telas. 
Hinc exaudiri gemitus iraeque leonum
vincla recusantum et sera sub nocte rudentum, saetigerique sues atque in
praesaepibus ursi saevire ac formae magnorum ululare luporum, quos hominum
ex facie dea saeva potentibus herbis induerat Circe in voltus ac terga
ferarum. 
Quae ne monstra pii paterentur talia Troes delati in portus neu litora dira
subirent, Neptunus ventis implevit vela secundis atque fugam dedit et
praeter vada fervida vexit. 

'Raduntur litora' is particularly apt, I think, having scraped a few coasts
myself. And 'splendet tremulo sub lumine pontus' is a line that comes to
mind every time I'm on the water by moonlight. 

By the way, I looked at the site Jordan pointed out. Shocking, innit, that
none of us thought of Ancient Mariner? 

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