Millennia ago in ancient Greece a medical system evolved, out of even earlier Egyptian and Hindu beliefs, which aimed to understand the inner workings of the human body. At the hands of Hippocrates, (Greek physician, and ‘Father of Medicine’, c.460-370BC), the four humours were born. Hippocrates believed that the human body was composed of four… Read More The Physician, the Philosopher, the Poet: Ode on Melancholy
Today I am delighted to share with you the poetry of E. Vegvary. Intriguingly entitled ‘Break This Chrysalis Open and Extract My Embrionic Soul’, it is a striking snapshot of long spanning conflict, filled with gothic imagery and the dirty fingerprints of religion. You will find the piece below, accompanied by a small gallery of… Read More A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Break This Chrysalis Open and Extract My Embryonic Soul’ by E. Vegvary
Born on Halloween, 1795, John Keats (d. 1821) was a tragic character, a romantic, and a poet. Considered a key figure amongst the second generation of British Romantic poets following in the footsteps of William Wordsworth, William Blake, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Keats and his young contemporaries were more open to exploring the space in… Read More A Poet’s House, Pleasure’s Temple: Keats’ Gothic, Epic, & Sublime
With a headful of horrorsI pack sleeplessnessinto bags heavyserried in rows sagging,like Poe’s. Nightmares seep through the seamsroll over, romantically,the landscape of waking lifeto fancifully fog reality where I sit. Enrobed in blanketsin daylightenrobed in relentless memories inventedby nighttime blowing steam from hot tea.Dissipating particles finelyinto airI dilute fantastical flashbacks with reality weakened into nothingbut… Read More A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Head Full of Horrors’
Grandfather of the American Gothic, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), is perhaps most well-known for his melancholic and musical ‘The Raven’ (1845). Many artists have and continue to illustrate the works of Poe, and this particular poem is an unsurprisingly popular choice. Having already brought the works of some of Europe’s finest authors to life, French… Read More Gustave Doré’s Illustrated Poe
I read of your pain, and pockets, stuffed unbearably to the brim of the sinking feeling felt when you tried and, dripping, failed how you had drowned many times before. I learnt of your struggles, thrust against the rocks, for respect and equal standing as your feet slipped and the cold muddy grey seeped in.… Read More A SEPARATE WORLD | ‘Woolf at Sea’
Generally Gothic 