Taryn's Notes from Tuesday

Hey guys- i tried to add this to the blog but i had trouble signing in for some reason.
Do check it though as Kris has posted Becca Chapman's notes.

A few things from last night:

Kyle: "More than $25" was really good

Kathleen: For continuity we're saying the year "10-06" and not "one thousand six". Kyle says it first and then Kathleen should say it the same way.

Serena/Bennie: New Years Eve Scene- bottle looks very unsteady sitting on chair, looked like it was going to be knocked over a few times. Looking at the moon was much better- same eye level last night. Serena's champagne pour looks fake and so does Bennie's drink of the champagne.
I will try and get the door for you guys when you enter with Bennie carrying Serena... at least the nights i'm not in the light booth.
The scene with Serena yelling at Kyle looked really good. And the dynamic with you two was better like when he tried to get her to back off and everything...very natural. Also the "lead off stage" was better too. Less dragging.

The last monologue looked strange to me last night.
Felt like we're having Kathleen enter too soon because she walks on and just stands with her back turned for a while before she does anything. Also the light was very low on Kyle. Almost too low but that may have been a cue error.
.... Just my opinion. I may be way off base with these last comments.

Kris: What time are you getting to the theatre to do chalking on the walls? I may be able to come by and help. And i think Rebecca offered to help as well.

Anyway- reminder tonight-- we're going to go for 7:30 so please be there by 7. Tonight is Wednesday at the Square so there may be a little extra traffic/parking issues.

Tomorrow-Sat please be there by 6:30 for a 7:30 go time.

Thanks a lot and let me know if any of you need anything.

-Taryn

Notes from Tuesdays Rehearsal

My comments are haphazard at best as I’m watching the physical setup and lights and trying to catch your acting as well.  It’s all going very well and the pacing is humming along.    I feel very confident about what I see and want to emphasize to you that as a cast you are at a very good place.    THESE COMMENTS, UNFORTUNATELY, DEAL WITH PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF ALL THE FANTASTIC WORK YOU ARE DOING.  PLEASE DON’T FEEL LIKE I’M PICKING ON YOU…I THINK YOU ARE ALL WONDERFUL AND ARE TELLING THE STORY WELL.

Freeze the givens! Hit your marks; find your light, move your chairs and hold onto the last of your clothes, but keep listening and reacting to each other.  There were many small surprises in the nuance/interaction between many of you last night and that’s what keeps things fresh.  I really think warm-up games are great and Jon, I think you should run the first half of your monologue at break neck speed each night to get the “wrote” confidence in your head and any “line” readings out of your mind.

Kyle/Jon -

Remember “Keats” equals love and he is the ONLY poet, not the only Poet.

Keep consistent with “voicing” Zoe.  Check in with Britain if you need to hear her.  Especially on “He’s with me!”   Same on “Don’t sciences guys….” These are moments for levity, albeit, small, levity nonetheless. 

I brought “Keats” it’s like heroin is to the addict…

“Absolutely no idea what she meant” I think that’ could be a bit smug.  It focuses on your central differences and your fanatical obsession with the physical.  How condescending!  You talk down to her by faking the understanding.

“Unparalleled” that means something Jon…don’t run that over.   Remember to emphasize where Science/Kyle and Spirit/Zoe (of which the word means life) meet.

“Sherry” I told you that name is synonymous with “nasty” with me…don’t gloss over it.

“You have to go” Think Britain…I think you she would have an upward inflection on the “you” and on “go” with “go” have a bit less emphasis.  But this should belie a bit of Serena!

Again words like pretended and enraged mean something and need a little punch.

I know you are really being conscious of keeping it conversational and I applaud you because you’re successful, but make sure that key word get a bit more “jazz” for emphasis.

Remember to get your shoulders involved in the breathing.  Not to big…just more than I’m currently seeing.

I missed totally the line that Zoe went out one night and didn’t’ come home. Remember Jon that we are tricking the audience here.  You just had a fight with her in the monologue and now you say she left…is it for someone else?  That’s what we want the audience to think….don’t give her death away.  Review your choices to make sure we’re not giving “death” away…separation perhaps…but death should be a surprise to the audience.

Voicing of “You make a great me!” Think Britain...

Remember not to see the rocks in the last scene.  We need a better purse.

Jon – you tempered your “sexual healing” vibe last night…it wasn’t as happy.  It wasn’t bad, but I don’t want you to slide into melancholy.

You are the producer…you should have money coming out of your ears.  Have some in your pocket so you can give it to Britain.

Please review the second pull we discussed last night with Serena.  I love the WAY you spoke to her after she accosted you, but the way you opened your eyes seemed out of line with what’s happening. Let a second pull tug you back to reality.  Keep your shoulders in your breathing.

The final hug must be at center…pulling it left really screws with the picture…that said, the emotional work is beautiful and I don’t want to squelch that for placement…but…..

Once the hug it done, please pull DL of Bennie and Serena leaving them to themselves. Your pulling right last night, which I’ve never seen you do created a weird cluster buck spacing wise.  Pull DL.

Shawn/Bennie - 

I swear you are calling Serena something other than Serena at the “Kyle refused to speak to me” I can’t remember the name, but it’s something else.

Were you not in place for the phone ringing sequence?

We talked about finding your light.  During the “temper” speech with Becca your facial expressions were great, but not all the way in the center light.

Please go through the setup for Bennie’s apartment before we run tonight. It took a long time.

Shawn be careful on the “Beer” line. It was way too aggressive for you last night.  Serena shushes you and you take that cue to pull things back and take another strategy.  That’s the beer and a talk strategy.  You were seething.  Keep that in check it seemed out of context for your character.

The final hug must be at center…pulling it left really screws with the picture…that said, the emotional work is beautiful and I don’t want to squelch that for placement…but…..

Don’t pat Kyle when you leave, be more concerned with Serena at this point.

While Kyle is recuperation after the jail sequence, can you pull the “couch” chairs to the SR side to get them out of the picture?
Shawn “Zoe is Dead” I don’t like it when you pull your head down so we can’t see your face.  Either get on you knee and talk directly or cheat it out to us standing so we can see your face.  The sound of your voice was great…really nurturing during this.

Lights/Sound –

Honeymoon transition

Dark sliver in the center area…

Review Chair and Sofa setup during the monologue..the light is not following Jon

Review the movement of the chair with Serena and Kyle, Bennie DC moving out of the jail.  They should be in black while Bennie speaks DC

Please review the phone sequence with Jon and Shawn

Mute the stars during the poetry reading at the end of the first act.

Second Act – Britain should be in the dark when she enters DR .  Kyle and Bennie should be sharing the center special at this point…there was way too much light on the stage.

Taryn –

Would you be kind enough to review the light/sound notes with Justin and Sal?

Knocking was cool, but I’m not sure how long it should go on…You seem to have a strong opinion on how long it should last, will you set that with Britain/Becca before the show tonight?

I’ll bring a piece of cloth to cover the rocks

Please have Bennie and Serena review where their bottle and cups will be stored.

We need “girls” clothing for the rocks too!

Can you review this sequence with Justin and Sal – Britain should be in the dark when she enters DR .  Kyle and Bennie should be sharing the center special at this point…there was way too much light on the stage.

Would you review this with Shawn?  While Kyle is recuperation after the jail sequence, can you pull the “couch” chairs to the SR side to get them out of the picture?

Britain –

Be aware of you light.  I think when you are on the SL side of the chair; you need to pull right a bit so you’ll be lit well.  The chair was out of place too, which is my fault.

If you use that door, please make sure you close it when you leave.

Wendy dropped a green dress off to me last night and I’ll bring it tonight.

Does the “orbit” section I keep referring to each night not feel right to you?  I think the audience will enjoy watching you walk and I see you as spinning this yarn around Kyle.   Are you forgetting it or does it just not resonate for you.  I think it looks cool but if it doesn’t happen it’s not the end of the world.

Serena

Review the placement of props with Bennie for the wine and glasses

Please go through the setup for Bennie’s apartment before we run tonight. It took a long time.

Please review the second pull we discussed last night with Serena.  I love the WAY you spoke to her after she accosted you, but the way you opened your eyes seemed out of line with what’s happening. Let a second pull tug you back to reality.  Keep your shoulders in your breathing.

The final hug must be at center…pulling it left really screws with the picture…that said, the emotional work is beautiful and I don’t want to squelch that for placement…but…..

Becca Chapman's Observations from Tuesday's run

Hey Kris!

Again GREAT work to you and the cast! You should all be very proud! I will certainly spread the word! Below are my comments. 

Kyle's Monologue:

- Very Natural flow to the monologue!

- emphasize Zoe's name the first time he says it. (its the first time the audience hears it). 

- Through out the show I loved watching Kyle discover things and realize things. I think he just needs to take his time in the very beginning of the monologue and do the same thing. (i know you mentioned he is a little nervous in the beginning. he just needs to take his time and let those thoughts emerge like he does in the rest of the play).

- Just a suggestion: maybe have more of a realization that he does not remember what Zoe's major was...and be more ashamed about that in front of the audience. 

Other stuff:

- kyle: emphasize "dead" when he says "Zoe's dead" for the first time. 

- Bennie: really be surprised when Kyle says "fuck". 

-I missed when Kyle said he was with the prostitute in Act 2. When Bennie said 4 days I thought he was still talking about Zoe. We can talk about this tomorrow. It might have just been a ditz moment on my part. 

- I loved the Prostitute! I thought she was sassy but also maternal. An incredibly interesting choice!

-Bennie: Does very well when he develops his thoughts in the monologues. 

- Serena- one hell of an actress! :) 

Thanks so much for asking me to come see your work! I really enjoyed it! have a great run

Much love!

Becca :)

Who is John Klemmer

John Klemmer (born July 3, 1946) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, song writer and arranger. ^[1]
He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began playing guitar at age 5. His other early interests & ambitions were in graphics and visual art, writing, dance, puppetry, painting, sculpting and poetry. He studied at schools that include The Art Institute of Chicago. He began alto sax at age 11 touring with various local midwest "ghost big bands" [Les Elgart, Woody Herman] big bands & local jazz & rock small groups. Switching to tenor sax in high school he participated in the active small groups jazz scene as well as commercial small group & big band work while leading his own groups in the Chicago area & touring.

Who is Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American pianist/composer who has performed in both jazz and classical music.
Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in both jazz and classical music, as a group leader and a solo performer. His improvisations draw not only from the traditions of jazz, but from other genres as well, especially Western classical music, gospel, blues, and ethnic folk music.
In 2003, Jarrett received the Polar Music Prize, the first (and to this day only) recipient not to share the prize with a co-recipient,^[1] and in 2004 he received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize.
In 2008, he was inducted into the Down Beat Hall of Fame by the Down Beat 73rd Annual Jazz Readers' Poll.

Layla Lyrics

What will you do when you get lonely
No one waitin' by your side
You've been runnin', hidin' much too long
You know it's just your foolish pride

Layla, you got me on my knees
Layla, beggin', darlin', please
Layla, darling, won't you ease
My worried mind?

Tried to give you consolation
Your old man let you down
Like a fool, I fell in love with you
You turned my whole world upside down

Layla, you got me on my knees
Layla, beggin', darlin', please
Layla, darling, won't you ease
My worried mind?

Make the best of the situation
Before I finally go insane
Please, don't say, "We'll never find a way"
Tell me all my love's in vain

Layla, got me on my knees
Layla, beggin', darlin', please
Layla, darling, won't you ease
My worried mind? Yeah, yeah

Layla, got me on my knees
Layla, beggin', darlin', please
Layla, darling, won't you ease
My worried mind? Yeah, yeah

Layla, got me on my knees
Layla, beggin', darlin', please
Layla, darling, won't you ease
My worried mind?

Layla, got me on my knees
Layla, beggin', darlin', please
Layla, darling, won't you ease
My worried mind?
Less...

Information about the Green Flash

Green flashes and green rays are optical phenomena that occur shortly after sunset or before sunrise, when a green spot is visible, usually for no more than a second or two, above the sun, or a green ray shoots up from the sunset point. Green flashes are actually a group of phenomena stemming from different causes, and some are more common than others.^[1] Green flashes can be observed from any altitude(even from an aircraft). They are usually seen at an unobstructed horizon, such as over the ocean, but are possible over cloud tops and mountain tops as well. The green flash can also be observed from the Moon and bright planets at the horizon, including Venus and Jupiter.^[2][3]

Contents [hide] 1 Explanation 2 Types 2.1 Blue flashes 2.2 Green rim 3 In media 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit]Explanation

The reason for a green flash lies in refraction of light (as in a prism) in the atmosphere: light moves more slowly in the lower, denser air than in the thinner air above, so sunlight rays follow paths that curve slightly, in the same direction as the curvature of the Earth. Higher frequency light (green/blue) curves more than lower frequency light (red/orange), so green/blue rays from the upper limb of the setting sun remain visible after the red rays are obstructed by the curvature of the earth.

Green flashes are enhanced by mirage, which increase the density gradient in the atmosphere, and therefore increase refraction. A green flash is more likely to be seen in clear air, when more of the light from the setting sun reaches the observer without being scattered. The blue light is preferentially scattered out of our line of sight and remaining light ends up looking green.

With slight magnification a green rim on the top limb of the solar disk can be seen on most clear-day sunsets. However the flash or ray effects require a stronger layering of the atmosphere and a mirage which serves to magnify the green for a fraction of a second to a couple of seconds.

[edit]Types

The green flash is actually a group of phenomena, some of which are listed below:^[1]

Type	Characteristics	Conditions	Best seen from...
Inferior-mirage flash	Joule's "last glimpse"; oval, flattened below. Lasts 1 or 2 seconds.	Surface warmer than the overlying air	Close to sea level
Mock-mirage flash	Indentations seem to "pinch off" a thin, pointy strip from the upper limb of the Sun. Lasts 1 or 2 seconds.	Atmospheric inversion layer below eye level; surface colder than air.	The higher the eye, the more likely; flash is most obvious when the eye is just above the inversion.
Sub-ductflash	Large upper part of an hourglass-shaped Sun turns green for up to 15 seconds.	Observer below a strongatmospheric inversion	In a narrow height interval just below a duct (can occur at any height)
Green ray	Green beam of light either shooting up or seen immediately after sundown. Usually few degrees long, lasting several seconds.	Hazy air and a bright green flash acting as a light source	sea level

The majority of flashes observed are inferior-mirage or mock-mirage ones, with the others constituting only 1% of reports. Some types not listed in the table above, such as the cloud-top flash (seen as the sun sinks into a coastal fog, or at distant cumulus clouds), are not understood.^[1]

[edit]Blue flashes

Very occasionally, the amount of blue light is sufficient to be visible as a "blue flash".^[4] The term should not be confused with the similar usage of blue flash referring to the blue light seen in nuclear criticality accidents.

[edit]Green rim

The upper rim is green while the lower one is red, as the sun sets behind theGolden Gate Bridge.

The green rim and flashes of a setting sun.

As an astronomical object sets or rises, the light it emits travels through the atmosphere, which works as a prism separating the light into different colors. The color of the upper limb of an astronomical object could go from green to blue to violet depending on the decrease in concentration of pollutants as they spread throughout an increasing volume of atmosphere.^[5] The lower limb of an astronomical object is always red.
A green rim is very thin, and is difficult or impossible to see with the naked eye. In usual conditions a green rim of an astronomical object gets fainter, when an astronomical object is very low above the horizon because of atmospheric reddening,^[6] but sometimes the conditions are right to see a green rim just above the horizon. The following quote describes probably the longest green rim, which at times could have been a green flash, observation. It was seen on and off for 35 long minutes by members of the Richard Evelyn Byrd party from the Little America exploration base in 1934. (Keep in mind that sunsets can really be slow, time-wise, events in polar regions.) Often a green rim changes to a green flash and back again during the same sunset. The image below is an illustration of what members of the Richard Evelyn Byrd party from the Little America exploration base may have seen.^[7][8]

There was a rush for the surface and as eyes turned southward, they saw a tiny but brilliant green spot where the last ray of the upper limb of the sun hung on the skyline. It lasted an appreciable length of time, several seconds at least, and no sooner disappeared than it flashed forth again. Altogether it remained on the horizon with short interruptions for thirty-five minutes.
When it disappeared momentarily it seemed to have been shut off by a tiny spurt, an inequality in the skyline caused by the barrier surface.
Even by moving the head up a few inches it would disappear and reappear again and after it had finally disappeared from view it could be recaptured by climbing up the first few steps of the antanea [sic] post.^{[cite this quote]}

To see green rim on and off for 35 minutes there had to be some mirage present.

There's an interesting situation with green rim observing. Green rim is present at every sunset, but it is too thin to be seen with the naked eye. The best time to observe a green rim is about 10 minutes before sunset.^[6] It is too early to use any magnification like binoculars or a telescopeto look right at the Sun. (Of course, a magnified image might be projected onto a sheet of paper for safe viewing.) When the sun gets closer to the horizon, the green rim is becoming fainter because of atmospheric reddening.^[6] According to the above it is probably correct to conclude that although a green rim is present during every sunset, a green flash is more rare because of the

Bennie Reference to Brother's who kill sister's lover

38. Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil

A Story from Boccaccio

I. FAIR Isabel, poor simple Isabel!
Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love’s eye!
They could not in the self-same mansion dwell
Without some stir of heart, some malady;
They could not sit at meals but feel how well	5
It soothed each to be the other by;
They could not, sure, beneath the same roof sleep
But to each other dream, and nightly weep.
II. With every morn their love grew tenderer,
With every eve deeper and tenderer still;	10
He might not in house, field, or garden stir,
But her full shape would all his seeing fill;
And his continual voice was pleasanter
To her, than noise of trees or hidden rill;
Her lute-string gave an echo of his name,	15
She spoilt her half-done broidery with the same.
III. He knew whose gentle hand was at the latch,
Before the door had given her to his eyes;
And from her chamber-window he would catch
Her beauty farther than the falcon spies;	20
And constant as her vespers would he watch,
Because her face was turn’d to the same skies;
And with sick longing all the night outwear,
To hear her morning-step upon the stair.
IV. A whole long month of May in this sad plight	25
Made their cheeks paler by the break of June:
“To morrow will I bow to my delight,
“To-morrow will I ask my lady’s boon.”—
“O may I never see another night,
“Lorenzo, if thy lips breathe not love’s tune.”—	30
So spake they to their pillows; but, alas,
Honeyless days and days did he let pass;
V. Until sweet Isabella’s untouch’d cheek
Fell sick within the rose’s just domain,
Fell thin as a young mother’s, who doth seek	35
By every lull to cool her infant’s pain:
“How ill she is,” said he, “I may not speak,
“And yet I will, and tell my love all plain:
“If looks speak love-laws, I will drink her tears,
“And at the least ’twill startle off her cares.”	40
VI. So said he one fair morning, and all day
His heart beat awfully against his side;
And to his heart he inwardly did pray
For power to speak; but still the ruddy tide
Stifled his voice, and puls’d resolve away—	45
Fever’d his high conceit of such a bride,
Yet brought him to the meekness of a child:
Alas! when passion is both meek and wild!
VII. So once more he had wak’d and anguished
A dreary night of love and misery,	50
If Isabel’s quick eye had not been wed
To every symbol on his forehead high;
She saw it waxing very pale and dead,
And straight all flush’d; so, lisped tenderly,
“Lorenzo!”—here she ceas’d her timid quest,	55
But in her tone and look he read the rest.
VIII. “O Isabella, I can half perceive
“That I may speak my grief into thine ear;
“If thou didst ever any thing believe,
“Believe how I love thee, believe how near	60
“My soul is to its doom: I would not grieve
“Thy hand by unwelcome pressing, would not fear
“Thine eyes by gazing; but I cannot live
“Another night, and not my passion shrive.
IX. “Love! thou art leading me from wintry cold,	65
“Lady! thou leadest me to summer clime,
“And I must taste the blossoms that unfold
“In its ripe warmth this gracious morning time.”
So said, his erewhile timid lips grew bold,
And poesied with hers in dewy rhyme:	70
Great bliss was with them, and great happiness
Grew, like a lusty flower in June’s caress.
X. Parting they seem’d to tread upon the air,
Twin roses by the zephyr blown apart
Only to meet again more close, and share	75
The inward fragrance of each other’s heart.
She, to her chamber gone, a ditty fair
Sang, of delicious love and honey’d dart;
He with light steps went up a western hill,
And bade the sun farewell, and joy’d his fill.	80
XI. All close they met again, before the dusk
Had taken from the stars its pleasant veil,
All close they met, all eves, before the dusk
Had taken from the stars its pleasant veil,
Close in a bower of hyacinth and musk,	85
Unknown of any, free from whispering tale.
Ah! better had it been for ever so,
Than idle ears should pleasure in their woe.
XII. Were they unhappy then?—It cannot be—
Too many tears for lovers have been shed,	90
Too many sighs give we to them in fee,
Too much of pity after they are dead,
Too many doleful stories do we see,
Whose matter in bright gold were best be read;
Except in such a page where Theseus’ spouse	95
Over the pathless waves towards him bows.
XIII. But, for the general award of love,
The little sweet doth kill much bitterness;
Though Dido silent is in under-grove,
And Isabella’s was a great distress,	100
Though young Lorenzo in warm Indian clove
Was not embalm’d, this truth is not the less—
Even bees, the little almsmen of spring-bowers,
Know there is richest juice in poison-flowers.
XIV. With her two brothers this fair lady dwelt,	105
Enriched from ancestral merchandize,
And for them many a weary hand did swelt
In torched mines and noisy factories,
And many once proud-quiver’d loins did melt
In blood from stinging whip;—with hollow eyes	110
Many all day in dazzling river stood,
To take the rich-ored driftings of the flood.
XV. For them the Ceylon diver held his breath,
And went all naked to the hungry shark;
For them his ears gush’d blood; for them in death	115
The seal on the cold ice with piteous bark
Lay full of darts; for them alone did seethe
A thousand men in troubles wide and dark:
Half-ignorant, they turn’d an easy wheel,
That set sharp racks at work, to pinch and peel.	120
XVI. Why were they proud? Because their marble founts
Gush’d with more pride than do a wretch’s tears?—
Why were they proud? Because fair orange-mounts
Were of more soft ascent than lazar stairs?—
Why were they proud? Because red-lin’d accounts	125
Were richer than the songs of Grecian years?—
Why were they proud? again we ask aloud,
Why in the name of Glory were they proud?
XVII. Yet were these Florentines as self-retired
In hungry pride and gainful cowardice,	130
As two close Hebrews in that land inspired,
Paled in and vineyarded from beggar-spies,
The hawks of ship-mast forests—the untired
And pannier’d mules for ducats and old lies—
Quick cat’s-paws on the generous stray-away,—	135
Great wits in Spanish, Tuscan, and Malay.
XVIII. How was it these same ledger-men could spy
Fair Isabella in her downy nest?
How could they find out in Lorenzo’s eye
A straying from his toil? Hot Egypt’s pest	140
Into their vision covetous and sly!
How could these money-bags see east and west?—
Yet so they did—and every dealer fair
Must see behind, as doth the hunted hare.
XIX. O eloquent and famed Boccaccio!	145
Of thee we now should ask forgiving boon,
And of thy spicy myrtles as they blow,
And of thy roses amorous of the moon,
And of thy lilies, that do paler grow
Now they can no more hear thy ghittern’s tune,	150
For venturing syllables that ill beseem
The quiet glooms of such a piteous theme.
XX. Grant thou a pardon here, and then the tale
Shall move on soberly, as it is meet;
There is no other crime, no mad assail	155
To make old prose in modern rhyme more sweet:
But it is done—succeed the verse or fail—
To honour thee, and thy gone spirit greet;
To stead thee as a verse in English tongue,
An echo of thee in the north-wind sung.	160
XXI. These brethren having found by many signs
What love Lorenzo for their sister had,
And how she lov’d him too, each unconfines
His bitter thoughts to other, well nigh mad
That he, the servant of their trade designs,	165
Should in their sister’s love be blithe and glad,
When ’twas their plan to coax her by degrees
To some high noble and his olive-trees.
XXII. And many a jealous conference had they,
And many times they bit their lips alone,	170
Before they fix’d upon a surest way
To make the youngster for his crime atone;
And at the last, these men of cruel clay
Cut Mercy with a sharp knife to the bone;
For they resolved in some forest dim	175
To kill Lorenzo, and there bury him.
XXIII. So on a pleasant morning, as he leant
Into the sun-rise, o’er the balustrade
Of the garden-terrace, towards him they bent
Their footing through the dews; and to him said,	180
“You seem there in the quiet of content,
“Lorenzo, and we are most loth to invade
“Calm speculation; but if you are wise,
“Bestride your steed while cold is in the skies.
XXIV. “To-day we purpose, ay, this hour we mount	185
“To spur three leagues towards the Apennine;
“Come down, we pray thee, ere the hot sun count
“His dewy rosary on the eglantine.”
Lorenzo, courteously as he was wont,
Bow’d a fair greeting to these serpents’ whine;	190
And went in haste, to get in readiness,
With belt, and spur, and bracing huntsman’s dress.
XXV. And as he to the court-yard pass’d along,
Each third step did he pause, and listen’d oft
If he could hear his lady’s matin-song,	195
Or the light whisper of her footstep soft;
And as he thus over his passion hung,
He heard a laugh full musical aloft;
When, looking up, he saw her features bright
Smile through an in-door lattice, all delight.	200
XXVI. “Love, Isabel!” said he, “I was in pain
“Lest I should miss to bid thee a good morrow:
“Ah! what if I should lose thee, when so fain
“I am to stifle all the heavy sorrow
“Of a poor three hours’ absence? but we’ll gain	205
“Out of the amorous dark what day doth borrow.
“Good bye! I’ll soon be back.”—“Good bye!” said she:—
And as he went she chanted merrily.
XXVII. So the two brothers and their murder’d man
Rode past fair Florence, to where Arno’s stream	210
Gurgles through straiten’d banks, and still doth fan
Itself with dancing bulrush, and the bream
Keeps head against the freshets. Sick and wan
The brothers’ faces in the ford did seem,
Lorenzo’s flush with love.—They pass’d the water	215
Into a forest quiet for the slaughter.
XXVIII. There was Lorenzo slain and buried in,
There in that forest did his great love cease;
Ah! when a soul doth thus its freedom win,
It aches in loneliness—is ill at peace	220
As the break-covert blood-hounds of such sin:
They dipp’d their swords in the water, and did tease
Their horses homeward, with convulsed spur,
Each richer by his being a murderer.
XXIX. They told their sister how, with sudden speed,	225
Lorenzo had ta’en ship for foreign lands,
Because of some great urgency and need
In their affairs, requiring trusty hands.
Poor Girl! put on thy stifling widow’s weed,
And ’scape at once from Hope’s accursed bands;	230
To-day thou wilt not see him, nor to-morrow,
And the next day will be a day of sorrow.
XXX. She weeps alone for pleasures not to be;
Sorely she wept until the night came on,
And then, instead of love, O misery!	235
She brooded o’er the luxury alone:
His image in the dusk she seem’d to see,
And to the silence made a gentle moan,
Spreading her perfect arms upon the air,
And on her couch low murmuring, “Where? O where?”	240
XXXI. But Selfishness, Love’s cousin, held not long
Its fiery vigil in her single breast;
She fretted for the golden hour, and hung
Upon the time with feverish unrest—
Not long—for soon into her heart a throng	245
Of higher occupants, a richer zest,
Came tragic; passion not to be subdued,
And sorrow for her love in travels rude.
XXXII. In the mid days of autumn, on their eves
The breath of Winter comes from far away,	250
And the sick west continually bereaves
Of some gold tinge, and plays a roundelay
Of death among the bushes and the leaves,
To make all bare before he dares to stray
From his north cavern. So sweet Isabel	255
By gradual decay from beauty fell,
XXXIII. Because Lorenzo came not. Oftentimes
She ask’d her brothers, with an eye all pale,
Striving to be itself, what dungeon climes
Could keep him off so long? They spake a tale	260
Time after time, to quiet her. Their crimes
Came on them, like a smoke from Hinnom’s vale;
And every night in dreams they groan’d aloud,
To see their sister in her snowy shroud.
XXXIV. And she had died in drowsy ignorance,	265
But for a thing more deadly dark than all;
It came like a fierce potion, drunk by chance,
Which saves a sick man from the feather’d pall
For some few gasping moments; like a lance,
Waking an Indian from his cloudy hall	270
With cruel pierce, and bringing him again
Sense of the gnawing fire at heart and brain.
XXXV. It was a vision.—In the drowsy gloom,
The dull of midnight, at her couch’s foot
Lorenzo stood, and wept: the forest tomb	275
Had marr’d his glossy hair which once could shoot
Lustre into the sun, and put cold doom
Upon his lips, and taken the soft lute
From his lorn voice, and past his loamed ears
Had made a miry channel for his tears.	280
XXXVI. Strange sound it was, when the pale shadow spake;
For there was striving, in its piteous tongue,
To speak as when on earth it was awake,
And Isabella on its music hung:
Languor there was in it, and tremulous shake,	285
As in a palsied Druid’s harp unstrung;
And through it moan’d a ghostly under-song,
Like hoarse night-gusts sepulchral briars among.
XXXVII. Its eyes, though wild, were still all dewy bright
With love, and kept all phantom fear aloof	290
From the poor girl by magic of their light,
The while it did unthread the horrid woof
Of the late darken’d time,—the murderous spite
Of pride and avarice,—the dark pine roof
In the forest,—and the sodden turfed dell,	295
Where, without any word, from stabs he fell.
XXXVIII. Saying moreover, “Isabel, my sweet!
“Red whortle-berries droop above my head,
“And a large flint-stone weighs upon my feet;
“Around me beeches and high chestnuts shed	300
“Their leaves and prickly nuts; a sheep-fold bleat
“Comes from beyond the river to my bed:
“Go, shed one tear upon my heather-bloom,
“And it shall comfort me within the tomb.
XXXIX. “I am a shadow now, alas! alas!	305
“Upon the skirts of human-nature dwelling
“Alone: I chant alone the holy mass,
“While little sounds of life are round me knelling,
“And glossy bees at noon do fieldward pass,
“And many a chapel bell the hour is telling,	310
“Paining me through: those sounds grow strange to me,
“And thou art distant in Humanity.
XL. “I know what was, I feel full well what is,
“And I should rage, if spirits could go mad;
“Though I forget the taste of earthly bliss,	315
“That paleness warms my grave, as though I had
“A Seraph chosen from the bright abyss
“To be my spouse: thy paleness makes me glad;
“Thy beauty grows upon me, and I feel
“A greater love through all my essence steal.”	320
XLI. The Spirit mourn’d “Adieu!”—dissolv’d, and left
The atom darkness in a slow turmoil;
As when of healthful midnight sleep bereft,
Thinking on rugged hours and fruitless toil,
We put our eyes into a pillowy cleft,	325
And see the spangly gloom froth up and boil:
It made sad Isabella’s eyelids ache,
And in the dawn she started up awake;
XLII. “Ha! ha!” said she, “I knew not this hard life,
“I thought the worst was simple misery;	330
“I thought some Fate with pleasure or with strife
“Portion’d us—happy days, or else to die;
“But there is crime—a brother’s bloody knife!
“Sweet Spirit, thou hast school’d my infancy:
“I’ll visit thee for this, and kiss thine eyes,	335
“And greet thee morn and even in the skies.”
XLIII. When the full morning came, she had devised
How she might secret to the forest hie;
How she might find the clay, so dearly prized,
And sing to it one latest lullaby;	340
How her short absence might be unsurmised,
While she the inmost of the dream would try.
Resolv’d, she took with her an aged nurse,
And went into that dismal forest-hearse.
XLIV. See, as they creep along the river side,	345
How she doth whisper to that aged Dame,
And, after looking round the champaign wide,
Shows her a knife.—“What feverous hectic flame
“Burns in thee, child?—What good can thee betide,
“That thou should’st smile again?”—The evening came,	350
And they had found Lorenzo’s earthy bed;
The flint was there, the berries at his head.
XLV. Who hath not loiter’d in a green church-yard,
And let his spirit, like a demon-mole,
Work through the clayey soil and gravel hard,	355
To see skull, coffin’d bones, and funeral stole;
Pitying each form that hungry Death hath marr’d,
And filling it once more with human soul?
Ah! this is holiday to what was felt
When Isabella by Lorenzo knelt.	360
XLVI. She gaz’d into the fresh-thrown mould, as though
One glance did fully all its secrets tell;
Clearly she saw, as other eyes would know
Pale limbs at bottom of a crystal well;
Upon the murderous spot she seem’d to grow,	365
Like to a native lily of the dell:
Then with her knife, all sudden, she began
To dig more fervently than misers can.
XLVII. Soon she turn’d up a soiled glove, whereon
Her silk had play’d in purple phantasies,	370
She kiss’d it with a lip more chill than stone,
And put it in her bosom, where it dries
And freezes utterly unto the bone
Those dainties made to still an infant’s cries:
Then ’gan she work again; nor stay’d her care,	375
But to throw back at times her veiling hair.
XLVIII. That old nurse stood beside her wondering,
Until her heart felt pity to the core
At sight of such a dismal labouring,
And so she kneeled, with her locks all hoar,	380
And put her lean hands to the horrid thing:
Three hours they labour’d at this travail sore;
At last they felt the kernel of the grave,
And Isabella did not stamp and rave.
XLIX. Ah! wherefore all this wormy circumstance?	385
Why linger at the yawning tomb so long?
O for the gentleness of old Romance,
The simple plaining of a minstrel’s song!
Fair reader, at the old tale take a glance,
For here, in truth, it doth not well belong	390
To speak:—O turn thee to the very tale,
And taste the music of that vision pale.
L. With duller steel than the Persèan sword
They cut away no formless monster’s head,
But one, whose gentleness did well accord	395
With death, as life. The ancient harps have said,
Love never dies, but lives, immortal Lord:
If Love impersonate was ever dead,
Pale Isabella kiss’d it, and low moan’d.
’Twas love; cold,—dead indeed, but not dethroned.	400
LI. In anxious secrecy they took it home,
And then the prize was all for Isabel:
She calm’d its wild hair with a golden comb,
And all around each eye’s sepulchral cell
Pointed each fringed lash; the smeared loam	405
With tears, as chilly as a dripping well,
She drench’d away:—and still she comb’d, and kept
Sighing all day—and still she kiss’d, and wept.
LII. Then in a silken scarf,—sweet with the dews
Of precious flowers pluck’d in Araby,	410
And divine liquids come with odorous ooze
Through the cold serpent pipe refreshfully,—
She wrapp’d it up; and for its tomb did choose
A garden-pot, wherein she laid it by,
And cover’d it with mould, and o’er it set	415
Sweet Basil, which her tears kept ever wet.
LIII. And she forgot the stars, the moon, and sun,
And she forgot the blue above the trees,
And she forgot the dells where waters run,
And she forgot the chilly autumn breeze;	420
She had no knowledge when the day was done,
And the new morn she saw not: but in peace
Hung over her sweet Basil evermore,
And moisten’d it with tears unto the core.
LIV. And so she ever fed it with thin tears,	425
Whence thick, and green, and beautiful it grew,
So that it smelt more balmy than its peers
Of Basil-tufts in Florence; for it drew
Nurture besides, and life, from human fears,
From the fast mouldering head there shut from view:	430
So that the jewel, safely casketed,
Came forth, and in perfumed leafits spread.
LV. O Melancholy, linger here awhile!
O Music, Music, breathe despondingly!
O Echo, Echo, from some sombre isle,	435
Unknown, Lethean, sigh to us—O sigh!
Spirits in grief, lift up your heads, and smile;
Lift up your heads, sweet Spirits, heavily,
And make a pale light in your cypress glooms,
Tinting with silver wan your marble tombs.	440
LVI. Moan hither, all ye syllables of woe,
From the deep throat of sad Melpomene!
Through bronzed lyre in tragic order go,
And touch the strings into a mystery;
Sound mournfully upon the winds and low;	445
For simple Isabel is soon to be
Among the dead: She withers, like a palm
Cut by an Indian for its juicy balm.
LVII. O leave the palm to wither by itself;
Let not quick Winter chill its dying hour!—	450
It may not be—those Baalites of pelf,
Her brethren, noted the continual shower
From her dead eyes; and many a curious elf,
Among her kindred, wonder’d that such dower
Of youth and beauty should be thrown aside	455
By one mark’d out to be a Noble’s bride.
LVIII. And, furthermore, her brethren wonder’d much
Why she sat drooping by the Basil green,
And why it flourish’d, as by magic touch;
Greatly they wonder’d what the thing might mean:	460
They could not surely give belief, that such
A very nothing would have power to wean
Her from her own fair youth, and pleasures gay,
And even remembrance of her love’s delay.
LIX. Therefore they watch’d a time when they might sift	465
This hidden whim; and long they watch’d in vain;
For seldom did she go to chapel-shrift,
And seldom felt she any hunger-pain;
And when she left, she hurried back, as swift
As bird on wing to breast its eggs again;	470
And, patient as a hen-bird, sat her there
Beside her Basil, weeping through her hair.
LX. Yet they contriv’d to steal the Basil-pot,
And to examine it in secret place:
The thing was vile with green and livid spot,	475
And yet they knew it was Lorenzo’s face:
The guerdon of their murder they had got,
And so left Florence in a moment’s space,
Never to turn again.—Away they went,
With blood upon their heads, to banishment.	480
LXI. O Melancholy, turn thine eyes away!
O Music, Music, breathe despondingly!
O Echo, Echo, on some other day,
From isles Lethean, sigh to us—O sigh!
Spirits of grief, sing not your “Well-a-way!”	485
For Isabel, sweet Isabel, will die;
Will die a death too lone and incomplete,
Now they have ta’en away her Basil sweet.
LXII. Piteous she look’d on dead and senseless things,
Asking for her lost Basil amorously:	490
And with melodious chuckle in the strings
Of her lorn voice, she oftentimes would cry
After the Pilgrim in his wanderings,
To ask him where her Basil was; and why
’Twas hid from her: “For cruel ’tis,” said she,	495
“To steal my Basil-pot away from me.”
LXIII. And so she pined, and so she died forlorn,
Imploring for her Basil to the last.
No heart was there in Florence but did mourn
In pity of her love, so overcast.	500
And a sad ditty of this story born
From mouth to mouth through all the country pass’d:
Still is the burthen sung—“O cruelty,
“To steal my Basil-pot away from me!”