Month: September 2024

Elizabeth Barrett Elopes with Robert Browning (1846)

Elizabeth Barrett’s Poems, published in 1844, brought her immediate fame and became a favorite of the poet Robert Browning. The two began to correspond, fell in love, and, after a courtship kept secret from her tyrannical father, married and settled in Italy. The once frail and sickly Elizabeth grew stronger and, at age 43, gave birth to a son. Her poetic reputation rests chiefly on the love poems written during their courtship, Sonnets from the Portuguese. Who is “the Portuguese”? Discuss

Alfred A. Knopf (1892)

Knopf was a leading American publisher of the 20th century who founded Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., in 1915. He emphasized translations of great contemporary European literature, at that time neglected by American publishers, and paid special attention to the printing, binding, and design of his books, earning a reputation as a purist in both content and presentation. By the time of his death, authors published by the firm had won 16 Nobel and 27 Pulitzer prizes. What was his colophon? Discuss

Active Denial System

Informally labeled the “pain ray,” the Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal weapon being developed by the US military. Designed for use in crowd control operations, the ADS emits electromagnetic radiation that excites water molecules in the epidermis, causing an intensely painful burning sensation. Though the device does not actually burn the skin, its effect is said to feel similar to a hot light bulb being pressed against it. How long do these painful effects last? Discuss

Pierre de Ronsard (1524)

Now considered one of the greatest French poets, Ronsard first served as a page and a squire and seemed destined for a career at court both in France and abroad. However, an illness left him partially deaf, and he turned to scholarship and literature. Named poet royal, the “prince of poets” wrote a great number of poems on many themes, especially patriotism, love, and death. He led a group of poets who cultivated the sonnet form and took the name of what earlier group of poets and tragedians? Discuss

Infrasound

Long thought to cause feelings of fear or awe, infrasound is sound that is able to cover long distances with little dissipation at a frequency too low to be detected by the human ear. It is created by natural phenomena such as ocean waves and earthquakes and can be artificially produced by explosions or machines. Infrasound is used by some animals to communicate over long distances and by predators to “freeze” their prey. Why do some scientists believe infrasound is related to ghost sightings? Discuss

The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (1547)

The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh was part of the War of Rough Wooing, the ruthless war launched by Henry VIII against Scotland to force a marriage between Mary Queen of Scots and his son, the future Edward VI. The first “modern” battle to be fought in the British Isles and the last pitched battle between the English and Scottish royal armies, it resulted in a catastrophic defeat for the Scots, who came to call it Black Saturday. After the battle, what happened to the infant Queen Mary? Discuss

Thomas Sydenham (1624)

Known as “the English Hippocrates,” Sydenham was a physician who advocated direct observation instead of theorizing to determine the nature of disease. His conceptions of the causes and treatments of epidemics and his classic descriptions of gout, smallpox, malaria, and other maladies established him as a founder of modern clinical medicine and epidemiology. He introduced laudanum as a medication, helped popularize the use of quinine in treating malaria, and described what “dancing” disease? Discuss