Muses

Muses

 The Nine Muses by Lodewijk Toeput c.1550- 1603/05

I fell to thinking the other day, as one does, about Muses – you know, those mythical beings who inspire poets, writers, musicians, in fact, artists of all hues. I suppose, actually, I was musing!

Are Muses always female, I pondered, or could they sometimes be male? I had always heard of them being referred to as female. So, I decided to look up ‘Muses’ and lo and behold I was slapped in the face by my lack of a classical education, for, had I studied Ancient Greek or Roman mythology I would have learnt (though probably not retained) the following.

The Muses were nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who supervised the arts and sciences. Calliope presided over Epic Poetry, like The Aeneid or Beowulf, while her sister, Clio, managed History. Did she work backwards, I wonder, or did she foresee the future? I can’t quite understand how she carried out her duties.

Euterpe and Erato both undertook lyric poetry. This is a form of poetry that expresses personal emotions or feelings and is often spoken in the first person. William Shakespeare’s sonnets are examples of lyric poetry and in the 20^th century (last century, for Heaven’s sake!) Walter de la Mare and A.E. Housman both used the lyric form. Erato, as you might infer from her name, governed erotic lyric poetry.

In Ancient Greece, the lyric was accompanied by a stringed instrument, commonly a lyre, and Erato oversaw this as well as lyric poetry, while her sister, Euterpe, managed flute playing in addition to lyric poetry.

Terpsichore presided over choral dancing and song, and people sometimes humorously refer to dancing as ‘a terpsichorean activity. It was first used in this context in 1825. A dancer may also be called a terpsichorean. Terpsichore also carried a lute and is often depicted singing.

Melpomene ruled over tragedy. She is frequently shown holding a tragic mask in one hand and a knife or club in the other.

Thalia, in direct contrast, was the goddess of comedy and light verse, and Polyhymnia governed hymns and later, mime.

I wonder if you can guess what Urania controlled? If you surmised astronomy, you were correct.

Magpie Tales #67 The Best-Laid Plans

Thanks go to Tess Kincaid who organises and hosts this meme J The challenge is to respond in verse or worse to the prompt she offers. To read more Magpies please click here.

'Banquet Scene with a Lute Player' by Nicolas Tournier

Beatrice was twenty, almost unmarriageable according to her mother. Mrs Fuller had begun to despair of ever seeing her daughter wed until the nephew of a friend came into society. She decided that an intimate dinner à deux would lead to a more serious liaison and perhaps soon to a marriage proposal from Benedict. She had arranged the evening and had made sure that her daughter dressed with care, modestly but with style. She was gratified to see that Benedict had paid similar attention to his own toilette. Maybe her days of longing would soon be over and she could join the ranks of matrons joyfully planning their daughters’ nuptials.

Mrs Fuller’s advice to her daughter had been to keep her opinions to herself and to be a good listener.  ‘Men don’t like clever women,’ she cautioned, so Beatrice curbed her natural wit and flattered Benedict by seeming to hang on his every word, greeting every ponderous attempt at humour with soft rippling laughs. At the same time she stifled a yawn and wondered if his wit might improve with time.

Her mother had arranged for music to be played at the table. Beatrice was rather surprised that the lutenist sat down with them but he was attractive and in other circumstances she might have allowed herself a little flirtation. He caught her eye and smiled engagingly and she felt herself blushing. She glanced quickly at Benedict but he had not noticed the looks passing between them. In fact he seemed interested in little else than the state of his dress, constantly brushing off imaginary flecks of dust and rearranging the skirts of his waistcoat. It was a pity, Beatrice reflected, that such good looks should be wasted on a tedious man like Benedict. Whatever had her mother been thinking, to hope that her daughter might marry such a dullard?

At that moment the main course was served but as she was about to start eating, a third man joined the party. Really, it was getting rather crowded at this small table. Benedict introduced him as Rodolfo and it soon became apparent that they were intimates. Her previously dull companion became a source of incandescent wit. Rodolfo paid no attention to Beatrice or the musician - he was entranced by Benedict and Beatrice realised that her mother’s hopes were never to be realised. She sighed with relief, winked at the musician, who picked up his lute, and they left together.