The Children and Sir Nameless

Sir Nameless, once of Athelhall, declared:
"These wretched children romping in my park
Trample the herbage till the soil is bared,
And yap and yell from early morn till dark!
Go keep them harnessed to their set routines:
Thank God I've none to hasten my decay;
For green remembrance there are better means
Than offspring, who but wish their sires away."

Sir Nameless of that mansion said anon:
"To be perpetuate for my mightiness
Sculpture must image me when I am gone."
- He forthwith summoned carvers there express
To shape a figure stretching seven-odd feet
(For he was tall) in alabaster stone,
With shield, and crest, and casque, and word complete:
When done a statelier work was never known.

Three hundred years hied; Church-restorers came,
And, no one of his lineage being traced,
They thought an effigy so large in frame
Best fitted for the floor. There it was placed,
Under the seats for schoolchildren. And they
Kicked out his name, and hobnailed off his nose;
And, as they yawn through sermon-time, they say,
"Who was this old stone man beneath our toes?"

Came across this for the first time today and found it delightful - the Selfish Giant meets Ozymandias



Post Edited (11-08-04 16:54)

>Selfish Giant meets Ozymandias

Yupl. Looks like Hardy wrote about Athelhall/Athelhampton a lot. First I have heard about it, though. Thanks for sending the verse along.

[tinyurl.com]

So many of Hardy's wonderful poems read like miniature novels. What a delight.

Peter

whats the theme of this poem?

i think Herbage is the theme

'This too shall pass.' or 'you're not as important as you think you are.'

pam

"Fame is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." Or was it, glory is fleeting but a zit is forever? Escapes me.

Fame for its own sake means nothing.

Marian:

I know I've read this before but I can't recall where or when. I'll rummage through the stacks to see if I can locate it. I think I may have even done an analysis way back in my school days, centuries ago. Thanks for jarring the memory.

JoeT

Japan believes in fame for its own sake.

[www.sake.nu]

In Japan, the hand
can be used like a knife

also, when they say the Pledge of Allegience in Japan, they say "one nation under Godzilla"



Post Edited (12-02-04 11:04)

Godzirra. prease.

Technically, it's "Gojira"