The Unquiet Grave (book)

Last updated
First edition
(publ. Curwen Press for Horizon) TheUnquietGrave.jpg
First edition
(publ. Curwen Press for Horizon)

The Unquiet Grave is a literary work by Cyril Connolly written in 1944 under the pseudonym Palinurus. It comprises a collection of aphorisms, quotes, nostalgic musings and mental explorations.

Contents

Palinurus was the pilot of Aeneas's ship in Virgil's Aeneid , who fell overboard as an act of atonement to the angry gods, and whose spirit wandered in the underworld. Connolly uses the theme to explore his feelings and review his situation as he approaches the age of forty presenting a very pessimistic and self-deprecating account. Into this he brings quotes from some of his favourite authors: Pascal, De Quincey, Chamfort and Flaubert as well as snatches from the Buddha, Chinese philosophy and Freud.

The book's title is taken from an English folk song of the same name:

The twelvemonth and a day being up,
The dead began to speak:
'Oh who sits weeping on my grave,
And will not let me sleep?' [1]

The book is in four parts entitled Ecce Gubernator ("Here is the pilot"), Te Palinure Petens ("Looking for you, Palinurus"), La Clé des Chants ("The key of songs") and Who was Palinurus. The first two contain similar sets of musing, while the third contains more recollections with veiled references to Connolly's life in France. The last gives an account of Palinurus's history.

Quotes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Nolte</span> American actor (born 1941)

Nicholas King Nolte is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nolte first came to prominence for his role in the ABC miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for The Prince of Tides (1991). He received three Academy Award nominations for The Prince of Tides (1991), Affliction (1998) and Warrior (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Bowra</span> English classical scholar, literary critic and academic (1898–1971)

Sir Cecil Maurice Bowra, was an English classical scholar, literary critic and academic, known for his wit. He was Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, from 1938 to 1970, and served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1951 to 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Connolly</span> Scottish actor and comedian (born 1942)

Sir William Connolly is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and television presenter. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin. Known for his idiosyncratic and often improvised observational comedy, frequently including strong language, Connolly has topped many UK polls as the greatest stand-up comedian of all time. In 2022 he received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Hallam</span> English poet (1811–1833)

Arthur Henry Hallam was an English poet, best known as the subject of a major work, In Memoriam, by his close friend and fellow poet Alfred Tennyson. Hallam has been described as the jeune homme fatal of his generation.

"To His Coy Mistress" is a metaphysical poem written by the English author and politician Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) either during or just before the English Interregnum (1649–60). It was published posthumously in 1681.

In poetry, internal rhyme, or middle rhyme, is rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse, or between internal phrases across multiple lines. By contrast, rhyme between line endings is known as end rhyme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril Connolly</span> English writer (1903–1974)

Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine Horizon (1940–49) and wrote Enemies of Promise (1938), which combined literary criticism with an autobiographical exploration of why he failed to become the successful author of fiction that he had aspired to be in his youth.

<i>Water</i> (1985 film) 1985 British film

Water is a 1985 British comedy film directed by Dick Clement and starring Michael Caine. It was scripted by Clement and Ian La Frenais. The plot spoofs elements of the comedies Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1958) and Passport to Pimlico (1948) and the then-recent invasions of the Falkland Islands and Grenada. Caine plays Baxter Thwaites, a Governor who has 'gone native', and Billy Connolly as local biracial activist Delgado, supported by the last performance of Leonard Rossiter, as Sir Malcolm Leveridge, and one of the last performances of Fulton Mackay.

"The Unquiet Grave" is an English folk song in which a young man's grief over the death of his true love is so deep that it disturbs her eternal sleep. It was collected in 1868 by Francis James Child as Child Ballad number 78. One of the more common tunes used for the ballad is the same as that used for the English ballad "Dives and Lazarus" and the Irish pub favorite "Star of the County Down".

<i>Billy Connollys World Tour of Australia</i> 1996 British television travel documentary series

Billy Connolly's World Tour of Australia is the second in a line of 'world tours' that follow comedian Billy Connolly on his various travels across the globe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard</span> Major influence on existentialism, postmodernism and psychology

The philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard has been a major influence in the development of 20th-century philosophy, especially existentialism and postmodernism. Søren Kierkegaard was a 19th-century Danish philosopher who has been labeled by many as the "Father of Existentialism", although there are some in the field who express doubt in labeling him an existentialist to begin with. His philosophy also influenced the development of existential psychology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enemies of Promise</span>

Enemies of Promise is a critical and autobiographical work written by English writer Cyril Connolly first published in 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scout prayers</span> Traditional worship in Scouting

Prayer is used in Scouting worldwide, following the belief of its founder, Robert Baden-Powell, that "a scout is reverent." When creating the Scouting concept, Baden-Powell was adamant that there was a place for God within it. In Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell wrote:

We aim for the practice of Christianity in their everyday life and dealings, and not merely the profession of theology on Sundays…

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man</span> 7th episode of the 4th season of The X-Files

"Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on November 17, 1996. It was written by Glen Morgan, directed by James Wong, and featured the first guest appearance by Chris Owens, appearing as a younger Smoking Man. "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.7, being watched by 17.09 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orison Swett Marden</span> American writer (1848–1924)

Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924) was an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897. His writings discuss common-sense principles and virtues that make for a well-rounded, successful life. Many of his ideas are based on New Thought philosophy.

<i>The Adventures of Mark Twain</i> (1985 film) 1985 film

The Adventures of Mark Twain, also known as Comet Quest in the United Kingdom, is a 1985 American stop-motion claymation fantasy film directed by Will Vinton and starring James Whitmore. It received a limited theatrical release in May 1985 and was released on DVD in January 2006 and again as a collector's edition in 2012 on DVD and Blu-ray.

<i>Poetical Sketches</i> Collection of poetry by William Blake

Poetical Sketches is the first collection of poetry and prose by William Blake, written between 1769 and 1777. Forty copies were printed in 1783 with the help of Blake's friends, the artist John Flaxman and the Reverend Anthony Stephen Mathew, at the request of his wife Harriet Mathew. The book was never published for the public, with copies instead given as gifts to friends of the author and other interested parties. Of the forty copies, fourteen were accounted for at the time of Geoffrey Keynes' census in 1921. A further eight copies had been discovered by the time of Keynes' The Complete Writings of William Blake in 1957. In March 2011, a previously unrecorded copy was sold at auction in London for £72,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palinurus</span> Mythical coxwain of Aeneas ship

Palinurus (Palinūrus), in Roman mythology and especially Virgil's Aeneid, is the coxswain of Aeneas' ship. Later authors used him as a general type of navigator or guide. Palinurus is an example of human sacrifice; his life is the price for the Trojans landing in Italy.

Morte e Vida Severina is a play in verse by Brazilian author João Cabral de Melo Neto, one of his most famous and frequently read works. Published in 1955 and written between 1954 and 1955, the play is divided into 18 sections and written in heptasyllabic meter, recalling the cordel, a form the popular poetry of northeastern Brazil, where Melo Neto was born and lived for most of his life.

References