Thursday, August 17, 2017

Sibyls in Sets

attributed to Baccio Baldini
Libyan Sibyl
ca. 1470-80
engraving
British Museum

Girolamo di Benvenuto
Libyan Sibyl
before 1524
drawing
British Museum

Raffaello Schiaminossi
Libyan Sibyl
1609
etching
British Museum

SPELT FROM SIBYL'S LEAVES

Earnest, earthless, equal, attuneable, faulty, voluminous . . . stupendous
Evening strains to be time's vast, womb-of-all, home-of-all, hearse-of-all night.
Her fond yellow hornlight wound to the west, her wild hollow hoarlight hung to the height
Waste; her earliest stars, earlstars, stars principal, overbend us,
Fire-featuring heaven. For earth her being has unbound; her dapple is at an end, as-
tray or aswarm, all throughther, in throngs; self in self steeped and pashed––quite
Disremembering, dismembering all now. Heart, you round me right
With: Our evening is over us; our night whelms, whelms, and will end us.
Only the beakleaved boughs dragonish damask the tool-smooth bleak light; black,
Ever so black on it. Our tale, O our oracle! Let life, waned, ah let life wind
Off her once skeined stained veined variety upon, all on two spools; part, pen, pack
Now her all in two flocks, two folds––black, white; right, wrong; reckon but, reck but, mind
But these two; ware of a world where but these two tell, each off the other; of a rack
Where, selfwrung, selfstrung, sheathe- and shelterless, thoughts against thoughts in groans grind.

– Gerard Manley Hopkins

Hopkins called this poem "the longest sonnet ever made."  In sprung rhythm, eight stresses to the line.  Composed in 1884-85 – title and theme from the Latin hymn Dies irae 'As David and the Sibyl testify . . . what terror shall affright the soul when the Judge comes . . .'

attributed to Baccio Baldini
Delphic Sibyl
ca. 1470-80
engraving
British Museum

Girolamo di Benvenuto
Delphic Sibyl
before 1524
drawing
British Museum

Raffaello Schiaminossi
Delphic Sibyl
1609
etching
British Museum

attributed to Baccio Baldini
Persian Sibyl
ca. 1470-80
engraving
British Museum

Girolamo di Benvenuto
Persian Sibyl
before 1524
drawing
British Museum

Raffaello Schiaminossi
Persian Sibyl
1609
etching
British Museum

attributed to Baccio Baldini
Erythraean Sibyl
ca. 1470-80
engraving
British, Museum

Girolamo di Benvenuto
Erythraean Sibyl
before 1524
drawing
British Museum

Raffaello Schiaminossi
Erythraean Sibyl
1609
etching
British Museum

attributed to Baccio Baldini
Samian Sibyl
ca. 1470-80
engraving
 British Museum

Girolamo di Benvenuto
Samian Sibyl
before 1524
drawing
British Museum

Raffaello Schiaminossi
Samian Sibyl
1609
etching
British Museum