Death's Jest-book: The 1829 TextAfter early acclaim as a lyric poet and dramatist, Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803-1849) began Death's Jest-Book in 1825, as he moved to Germany to study medicine. Initially conceived as a satirical tragedy unmasking the terror of death, the Jest-Book was the counterpart of Beddoe's anatomical researches. This edition presents the Jest-Book in its early form, as Beddoes intended to publish it in 1829. It is the centre of Beddoe's achievement, a pastiche Renaissance tragedy replete with treachery, murder, sorcery and haunting, the extravagant expression of the poet's lifelong obsession with mortality and immortality. The drama contains some of the most powerful blank verse by any of the British Romantics. |
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Common terms and phrases
ADALMAR Alan Halsey AMALA Arab Art thou ATHULF Beddoes's bless blood bones breath Brides brother critical dare dead death Death's Jest-Book DJ-B doth drama DUKE earth Edmund Gosse English Enter ISBRAND Enter ZIBA Exeunt Exit eyes farewell fear fellow flowers fool friends George Darley ghost Göttingen grave H.W. Donner Harpagus hast thou hate hath haunting hear heart heaven Homunculus hope hour human KATE Kelsall lady leave literary live look Lovell Beddoes Society MANDRAKE Melveric Methinks MICHAEL BRADSHAW Münsterberg murder never night o'er pale pilgrim pitiful poet poetry poison quiet Resurrection Songs revenge Romantic ruins SCENE Selected Poems edited sepulchre SIBYLLA SIEGFRIED slave sleep soul speak spirit stars sweet sword tears thee There's thine Thomas Beddoes Thomas Lovell Beddoes thou art thou hast thou'rt thought to-night TORWALD tremble University of Göttingen unto voice weep wild Wilt thou wine WOLFRAM words