Words and Stories. Palavras e Histórias.
A beautiful fantasy by Hans Christian Andersen. In the Garden of Paradise, beneath the Tree of Knowledge, bloomed a rose bush. Here, in the first rose, a bird was born. His flight was like the flashing of light, his plumage was beauteous, and his song ravishing. But when Eve plucked the fruit of the tree … Continue lendo [Andersen’s lesser-known tales] The Phoenix Bird
Let's enjoy two particularly poetic passages from Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece
We use repetitions to emphasize an idea. But what if instead of repeating the same word, we repeated the same idea — in different words? The effect can be striking. In this short quote, we see an author find no less than eight different ways to say "the past", and use them all to evoke … Continue lendo [Writing tips] A great example of effective repetitions
Sometimes we are walking distractedly down a story when we stumble on a passage that is remarkable and precious. It's the case with Rudyard Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill. The story of the Roman centurion is very enjoyable, but when we come to this piece of poetry, we are surprised and delighted to see a … Continue lendo [Literary passage] A song to the Sun-god
Let's delight in Henry Morton Robinson's deft use of chess figures of speech towards the end of this scene. The man was a master at simile and metaphor. Setup: Young Father Stephen Fermoyle has fallen in disgrace with the irascible Cardinal Glennon, who banished him to a remote, penniless parish as assistant to the ailing … Continue lendo [Literary passage] Chess metaphors in The Cardinal
If you are curious about Brazilian poetry, this famous sonnet is a great place to start your discovery.
In a surprising digression from a crime analysis, Sherlock Holmes gives us a short but deep soliloquy on Beauty as proof of the Divine. From The Adventure of the Naval Treaty, in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. "What a lovely thing a rose is!" He walked past the couch to the … Continue lendo [Literary passage] Sherlock Holmes and the rose
As his characters sail the waters of the mysterious Silver Sea unto the very rim of the world, C. S. Lewis gives them a glimpse of the ineffable. From The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
An artist puts into words that universal experience of seeing, for one fleeting moment, the essential beauty of the universe. From L. M. Montgomery's "Emily of New Moon."
It happened at the time when our Lord created the world, when He not only made heaven and earth, but all the animals and the plants as well, at the same time giving them their names. There have been many histories concerning that time, and if we knew them all, we should have light upon … Continue lendo [Easter tale] “Robin Redbreast” by Selma Lagerlöf
Beatriz Becker 