Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
US National Archives and Records Administration, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.
In Coleridge’s epic poem, the Ancient Mariner, amid the horrors of a ship of dead men, sees a sight both beautiful and surreal.
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© Lewis Clarke, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
Humorist Thomas Hood obviously didn’t like to see the nights drawing in
© Hajor, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
The glory of political power soon passes away.
© Stephen McKay, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
The poet reflects on the obscure lives that most of us lead.