The Tragedy of Dr. Faustus - Christopher Marlowe

   So you have in front of you yet another classic, an old book, you have never heard about Dr. Faustus before, let alone Marlowe, ancient names. But it somehow got your attention and it is now time to read and see what it has to offer. The name is “The Tragic Story of Dr. Faustus” it is a tragic story then, we all know how those end. What is important here is that after reading it, you’ll dissect the book, extract its essence, curate it in the form of a brief essay, showcase it like a painting in a museum, surrounded by other elements that accentuate its qualities, and portrait it in a way that it will allow you to grasp its lasting effects. For that end, let’s use five perspectives.

   First, the most obvious and the one most telling, first reaction, as any other classic old book, the first thing you encounter is an old language, lots of words that sound funny, and many thou’s, thy’s, and thine’s, which as you go by, you get used to, also, and this is new, many Latin phrases, if you think about it, this is a book about a scholar, Dr. Faustus, in the 1400’s of so, so it is normal that he uses a lot of Latin since it was the language of the instructed people back then, and you yourself can use a bit of it but later I’ll discuss more on the language. The other thing you encounter right away is Faustus, a learned man, tired of logic, of law, of medicine, he has learned all that, now he wants something new, and he is not afraid of the Devil, his resolve is such, that he does not care for consequences, you tend to admire people that go so boldly forth, but it also fills you with a sort of fear and apprehension, he is told, "the shortest way of conjuring is stoutly to abjure all godliness/ And pray devoutly to the prince of hell" He does take you spiraling through the events that follow.

   The second way to look at it is by content, so we know Faustus, "bene disserere est finis logices/ Is, to dispute well, logic’s chiefest end/ Affords this art no greater miracle?" and there are other characters, of course, he has his servant Wagner bring up Valdes and Cornelius, who help him with a book about the dark arts and after some heavy Latin conjuring, “Sint mihi dii Acherontis propitii! Valeat numen triplex Jehovoe! Ignei, aerii, aquatani spiritus, salvete! Orientis princes Belzebub, inferni ardentis monarcha, … et per vota nostra, ipse nunc surgat nobis dicatus  Mephistophilis!” Mephistophilis appears, the Devil’s warden, he bargains with him to trade his soul for some superpowers. Which after the signing of a contract with his own blood he gets it. Twenty-four years of unearthly power and pleasure on earth for his soul at the end.

   The third way of seeing this is form. This is a play and has many characteristics that you can only find in a play. in one part, Mephistophilis talks to the audience, and tells them that he would give anything to get his soul, creating thus a dramatic irony, there is also a chorus, sort of singing, or simultaneous talking of the actors narrating what has happened or giving a sort of moral of the context, but most important is Marlowe's skill in writing, you can actually feel Faustus unquenchable desire for power and knowledge. His inner struggles are represented by two angels, this is straight out of cartoons, or the other way around, a good angel and an evil one, after some time, doing his thing, learning the secrets of the world, these two appear to him, and warn him it’s not too late, he can still save his soul if he just repents and gives in to God, but he is resolved, and Mephistophilis who is by his side all the time pressures him not to betray the Devil, not to call God's name o pray for that hurts him and to put aside those feeling and enjoy the power he has, otherwise, he will cut poor Dr. Faustus into pieces. After this he is presented with a book of conjuring from hell itself, with it, he could do magic and confabulate with demons, he is introduced to the seven sins, which are to be his friends, and with the help of Mephistophilis wreak havoc in the world for that so pleaseth the Devil.

   The fourth approach would be the historical context, after promising to comply with the Devil he goes and sees Pope Adrian, who is presented as an arrogant man, full of pride, and Faustus and Mephistophilis play with him, this is of course also a way of making protestant Englishman happy and appealing to his audience, they make themselves invisible, and help a rival Pope be set free, this really pleases the German Emperor, which was Carolus, another great historical figure, and the Emperor then sees Faustus, and asks him if he could let him see Alexander Magno, which he does, but this Nobel man that was there, Benvolio, disbelieved Faustus, thus he put horns on him. Benvolio then gathers up other three people and cuts Faustus head, but he cannot be killed until his twenty-four years are up, so he send the four of them on dragon’s back ride and are thrown from a mountain, and given horns once more.

   And in the fifth and final, a giant piece of the puzzle is missing, the personal context, who was Marlowe, little is known about the author's life, shrouded by mystery and speculation, “if Shakespeare didn’t exist we would have been studying him” that’s what everybody says, it is known that he was killed at a young age, stabbed in the head during a bar brawl, he was supposedly gay, some say he was a spy for the queen, maybe this led him to be fascinated by the myth of Dr. Faustus, which is a very real person who lived in Germany, around 1466, master in philosophy at the age of 21, the minimum for that degree, after that he made himself a name as a soothsayer, someone who reads palms, and astrologists, later referred by Martin Luther to be a magician, and thus his myth grew. Back to the story, at the end of his twenty-four years, you find Faustus with other three colleague scholars, who tell him to repent, it is his last hour, and of course he does, time seems to him an eternity, he pleads to God for mercy, he has his scholars pray for him, in the end we find him dismembered and his soul thrown to hell as was promised. Terminat hora diem; terminat auctor opus.

Through the Looking-Glass, Jabberwocky and Alice's Vorpal Sword

  "Jabberwocky"

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and Shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
 
    We are all familiar with Alice and her adventures, but who can really read her, who cares, who has the time right? but it is a classic for a reason, praised, renown, acclaimed, you name it, is it for the story?, so novel, so quaint, or is it for the style of the writer? We all know her story so I will argue the style of the writer part. One can read through this telling quite easily but when it comes to the poem parts, you will certainly not understand it at first and a little bit of deciphering would be in order, but this is not a tiresome endeavor at all, but a quest that could lead you even deeper into Wonderland and the words he once invented are now widely used in the English world. Thus I want to point out and talk about the 'Jabberwocky' which is a nonsense poem about the killing of a creature, the Jabberwock.
     As a nonsense poem then it is a journey to a very theoretical and subjective world, where a balancing act takes place between elements that make sense with some that do not. Do not read further is you feel a pressing need that things must make sense right away, I repeat LEAVE NOW, pass forward, move on if you do not enjoy nonsense and do not feel that you may find greater sense in it. Well! to help along, the elements that make sense speak of a hero, that slays or kills this monster the Jabbekrwock with a sword.
    Words have intrinsic power, and Lewis Carrol, takes them to a whole new level by combining many of them into one. These then become full of strength, beauty and are sometimes up to threefold in meaning, sometimes, very whimsical, sometimes nonsensical. Furthermore, sonority, there is a reverberation and resonance throughout the poem that you may not even know how to pronounce these words, and you might be right, that is why you should listen to them as well.
     As a play needs to be acted out, a poem must be declaimed. Two Sirs stand out at this and bestow great justice to this already epic poem, one of them is Sir Christopher Lee, the evil white wizard Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, a quintessential villain, for this other villainous creature that is the Jabberwock, and two, Sir Ian Mckellan, another Mithrandir, Gandalf the grey himself.
     Perhaps the fact that these two great actors, protagonists in maybe one of the most complex fantasy novels of our time, are related to this poem is not a coincidence, the genre of fantasy novels is said to have begun with Lewis Carrol and his world of Wonderland.
     To finalize, some making sense of symbols here, a mythological approach if you will, remember the saying ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ and from this poem ‘He took his vorpal sword in hand’. Well! the word vorpal is a made up word, as most of the words in this poem! and a combination of two real words, verbal and gospel. And from the gospel of Saint John we have ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’ therefore, as the gospel defeats evil, the writer wielding his weapon defeats this terrible monster, elocution of nightmares and fears, not with a physical blade but with the verb. What a fair, fabulous and joyous thing, or "frabjous" as Lewis would put it, that is the power of writing.
    So I invite you also to do justice to this poem, listen to the declamation, read the words and then explore its hidden meaning, for if you stay shallow on this one, it will never reveal to you! At the end is an attempt of making sense of some of the words and lines of this poem, not by all means all of it, nor the correct one, completely against the rule of the land, that is, you should by your own volition look up and experience what it could mean for you, but there it is nonetheless.



Christopher Lee  --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVoBra0I4jU
Ian Mckellan     --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJN-NfKtBoo

Jabberwocky

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

it was a broiling afternoon and slimy and lithe the badgers like corkscrews

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

did a spiral form vortex and made holes like a gimble in a grass-plot round a sun-dial

All mimsy were the borogoves,

all flimsy and miserable were the thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round, something like a live mop who made their nests under sun-dials and lived on veal

And the mome raths outgrabe.

and the green pigs badgers were bellowing and whistling

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

verbal and gospel

Long time the manxome foe he sought—

long time manxome foe and devourer of unnameable fluids

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

so rested he the hero will turn out to be the Sun-god in one of his _Avatars_; and the Tumtum tree the great Ash _Ygdrasil_ of the Scandinavian mythology.

And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood

I stood in uffish thought too long and now the Emperor is dead

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

Came whiffling through the thick, dense, dark wood,

And burbled as it came!

and bleat, murmer and warble as it came! -The characteristic cry of a goat or sheep-the Surge which oer the idle pebbles chafes cannot be heard so high' [2] but this is one of Old Willy's long stretches, for the murmer of the waves is distinctly heard, though the depth is dreadfuly and sublimly terrible-

One, two! One, two! and through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

a blend of gallop and triumphant

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

Radiantly beaming, happy, cheerful

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”

fair, fabulous, and joyous

He chortled in his joy.

he chuckle and snort in his joy

Paradise Lost, By John Milton, published in 1667

  It is at it is, an arduous endeavor to decode these lines, but don’t be befuddled by the complexity of it and disregard it so quickly, for in it there are wonders for those patient enough to carve the stone in which they were written and so extract its golden treasures. If we consider the historical context for a moment, 1666 an ominous year indeed, the Great Fire of London occurred, burning 87 medieval parish churches and the old Saint Paul´s Cathedral along with 13,200 houses. 7 out of 8 people lost their houses to the fire. Also and more important Milton was blind at the time.

       "OF Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit
       Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste
       Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
       With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
       Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat."

  One greater Man. The Messiah, or the "second Adam," Jesus. See Romans 5:19: "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous".

  This is an epic poem that retells the biblical story of genesis.
  It is considered a very difficult book to read chiefly because of its language. Milton’s style is what is called Latinate, meaning that rather than using common English sentence structure he uses the more elaborate structures taken from Latin, in English the sentences use the pattern of subject, object, verb, but Milton was fond of inversion, he would begin sentences with the verb, the object of the verb or even a prepositional phrase. This could make an already massive piece of work very time-consuming, the poem is written in blank verse or unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.

  Milton was also a very learned man, and its obscure references are a challenge to the modern readers, educated or not, he alludes to other works of literature that were probably more familiar to the 17th-century reader. It is also much easy to understand the poem if one is familiar with the King James Version of the bible or at least the three first chapter of the genesis. 

  Very formal, filled with rhetorical speeches, invocations, complex similes, and a long list of names, places, and armies.

  He considers his poem to be the greatest ever written, he states in the book, that it represents “things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme” this may not be a very humble point of view but most critics and readers agree with him.

  The theme of the poem is grand indeed, the origin of evil itself; hence, the consideration of “Epic Poem”, because it has meaning to all men in all times and it matches in grandeur its subject. Milton believed evil is embedded in man nature as a result of the original sin in the Garden of Eden and the sins of their descendants.

  At beginning he invokes Urania, a Greek muse, to guide and give him inspiration, and also the spirit he says, which refers to the Holy Spirit,

       “What in me is dark
       Illumin, what is low raise and support;
       That to the highth of this great Argument
       I may assert Eternal Providence,
       And justifie the wayes of God to men.”

  This is also a theme throughout the book he refers constantly to Greek mythology, and the bible intertwined.

  His portrait of Satan is intriguing and sometimes sympathetic, Adam and Eve are also given more depth, they are allowed to grow, learn and become transformed by their experiences.

  The book covers the rebellion of the angels and the war in heaven. 
  It talks about the angel Uriel, how he showed the devil the way out of the gates of Hell and where in Paradise was the Garden of Eden. 
  Also tells the story of the creation of Earth and how Satan attempted to escape Hell but concluded that is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven, and also that Hell is within him, thus, he would divide God's kingdom and possibly rule over half of it.
  Another character is the angel Raphael, he explained the designs of God to Adam and Eve and warned them to be careful of Satan. 
  We all know this part, they ate from the fruit and then God sends one of his chief angels, Micheal, to escort Adam and Eve out of the Garden. Satan then goes back to Hell to proclaim his victory and on the road he meets Sin and Death, and he bargained with them to make them his ambassadors on earth.
  In exile, they suffer, so they ask God for mercy and He tells them that there is hope, their progeny would cleanse humankind from sin and how He will bring so much good out of the evil. They know that love, obedience, and trust in God are most important and that suffering for the truth is the highest form of bravery, they know also that death is actually the gateway to life, and so they have achieved the highest wisdom.
  At the end of Paradise Lost, paradise has been lost, and there is the promise that it will be refound, and in that promise Milton has fulfilled the obligation he has defined for himself at the beginning of the poem, to justify the ways of God to men, if God only punished Adam and Eve it would mean that Satan still won, but He had to bring good out of evil. He gave his angels and men free will, and although "innocence", the state they were in the Garden, is a virtue, sin enabled them to even greater virtues, like tolerance, compassion, and understanding.

Paradise Lost, by John Milton, first published in 1667

VOCABULARY

Th' infernal Serpent; he it was whose guile,
Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived
The mother of mankind,

the situation as Adam understand is that the will cannot be forced; if you don't want to do something nobody can force you to do. and your will is free, and it can be persuaded one way or another by your reason, and he puts it to E ve that reason might be sometimes misled, and she is very confident that that isn't the case, so he says, ok do that, but do only if you think you can resist temptation, if you have the ability to make your reason hold your will erect.

guile
noun \ˈgī(-ə)l\
Simple Definition of guile
: the use of clever and usually dishonest methods to achieve something

Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from th' ethereal sky,
With hideous ruin and combustion, down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains and penal fire,

hurl

verb, \ˈhər(-ə)l\
: to throw (something) with force
: to say or shout (something, such as an insult) in a loud and forceful way

Mixed with obdurate pride and steadfast hate.
obdurate (obstinado)
adjective ob·du·rate \ˈäb-də-rət, -dyə-; äb-ˈdu̇r-ət, əb-, -ˈdyu̇r-\
: refusing to do what other people want : not willing to change your opinion or the way you do something

round he throws his baleful eyes
baleful
adjective bale·ful \-fəl\
: threatening harm or evil
: harmful or deadly

At once, as far as Angels ken, he views
The dismal situation waste and wild.

ken
verb, \ˈken\
kenned kenning
transitive verb
1: archaic : see
2; chiefly dialect : recognize
3: chiefly Scottish : know

That glory never shall his wrath or might
Extort from me. To bow and sue for grace
With suppliant knee, and deify his power

deify
verb, de·i·fy \ˈdē-ə-ˌfī, ˈdā-\
: to treat (someone or something) like a god or goddess

That were an ignominy and shame beneath
This downfall; since, by fate, the strength of Gods,
And this empyreal sybstance, cannot fail;
ignominy
noun, ig·no·mi·ny \ˈig-nə-ˌmi-nē, -mə-nē also ig-ˈnä-mə-nē\
: a situation or event that causes you to feel ashamed or embarrassed

empyreal
adjective em·py·re·al \ˌem-ˌpī-ˈrē-əl, -pə-; em-ˈpir-ē-əl, -ˈpī-rē-\
1: of or relating to the empyrean : celestial
2: sublime

So spake th' apostate Angel, though in pain,
Vaunting aloud, but racked with deep despair;

vaunt

verb \ˈvȯnt, ˈvänt\
intransitive verb
: to make a vain display of one's own worth or attainments : brag
transitive verb
: to call attention to pridefully and often boastfully

Too well I see and rue the dire event
rue
noun \ˈrü\
: regret, sorrow

That we may so suffice his vengeful ire,
Or do him mightier service as his thralls

ire
noun \ˈī(-ə)r\
: intense anger

thrall

noun \ˈthrȯl\
a : a servant slave : bondman; also : serf

b : a person in moral or mental servitude

Whereto with speedy words th' Arch-Fiend replied:—
"Fallen Cherub, to be weak is miserable,
Doing or suffering: but of this be sure—
To do aught good never will be our task,
But ever to do ill our sole delight,
As being the contrary to his high will
Whom we resist. If then his providence
Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,
Our labour must be to pervert that end,

aught

pronoun \ˈȯt, ˈät\
1: anything
2: all, everything <for aught I care> <for aught we know>

Let us not slip th' occasion, whether scorn
Or satiate fury yield it from our Foe.
Seest thou yon dreary plain, forlorn and wild,
The seat of desolation, void of light,

Thither let us tend
From off the tossing of these fiery waves;

thither

adverb thith·er \ˈthi-thər also ˈthi-\
: to that place

Consult how we may henceforth most offend
Our enemy, our own loss how repair,
henceforth
adverb hence·forth \ˈhen(t)s-ˌfȯrth, hen(t)s-ˈ\
: from this time forward : starting now

Titanian or Earth-born, that warred on Jove,
Briareos or Typhon, whom the den
By ancient Tarsus held, or that sea-beast
Leviathan, which God of all his works

Chained on the burning lake; nor ever thence (therefore, therefrom)
Had risen, or heaved his head, but that the will
And high permission of all-ruling Heaven

Here we may reigh secure; and, in my choice,
To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

So Satan spake; and him Beelzebub
Thus answered:—"Leader of those armies bright
Which, but th' Omnipotent, none could have foiled!
If once they hear that voice, their liveliest pledge
Of hope in fears and dangers—
foil
verb \ˈfȯi(-ə)l\
transitive verb
obsolete : trample
a : to prevent from attaining an end : defeat <always able to foil her enemies>

b : to bring to naught : thwart <foiled the plot>

they will soon resume
New courage and revive, though now they lie
Grovelling and prostrate on yon lake of fire,
As we erewhile, astounded and amazed;
grovel
verb, grov·el \ˈgrä-vəl, ˈgrə-\
: to kneel, lie, or crawl on the ground
: to treat someone with too much respect or fear in a way that shows weakness in order to be forgiven or to gain approval or favor

erewhile

adverb ere·while \er-ˈ(h)wī(-ə)l\
archaic
: a while before : formerly

Smote on him sore besides, vaulted with fire.
Nathless he so endured, till on the beach

natheless
adverb nathe·less \ˈnāth-ləs\
archaic
: nevertheless, notwithstanding

High over-arched embower; or scattered sedge
Afloat, when with fierce winds Orion armed
Hath vexed the Red-Sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew
Busiris and his Memphian chivalry,
While with perfidious hatred they pursued
The sojourners of Goshen, who beheld
From the safe shore their floating carcases
And broken chariot-wheels. So thick bestrown,
Abject and lost, lay these, covering the flood,
Under amazement of their hideous change.

Cherub and Seraph rolling in the flood
With scattered arms and ensigns, till anon
His swift pursuers from Heaven-gates discern
Th' advantage

anon
adverb \ə-ˈnän\
: in a short time

They heard, and were abashed, and up they sprung
Upon the wing, as when men wont to watch
On duty, sleeping found by whom they dread,
Rouse and bestir themselves ere well awake.
Nor did they not perceive the evil plight
abash
verb \ə-ˈbash\
transitive verb
: to destroy the self-possession or self-confidence of : disconcert
bestir
verb be·stir \bi-ˈstər, bē-\
transitive verb
: to rouse to action : get going
ere
preposition \ˈer\
:before <ere nightfall>
plight
verb \ˈplīt\
Transitive verb
: to put or give in pledge : engage <plight his troth>

To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe

wanton

adjective wan·ton \ˈwȯn-tən, ˈwän-\

a : lewd, bawdy

b : causing sexual excitement : lustful, sensual

By that uxorious King, whose heart though large,
Beguil'd by fair Idolatresses, fell
uxorious
adjective ux·o·ri·ous \ˌək-ˈsȯr-ē-əs, ˌəg-ˈzȯr-\
: excessively fond of or submissive to a wife

Lucifer: pride
Mammon: greed
Asmodeus: lust
Leviathan: envy
Beelzebub: gluttony
Satan: wrath
Belphegor: sloth

Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake, the Lamb and the tyger.

Hie thee home wailing wights,

Here comes William Blakes

Put y’all in woe,

The shepherd’s sweet loot

Thy tongues shall fill with praise

Beware not to fall in his fiery blaze

Nineteen poems about innocence, full of glee and joy, talks about the birds and their songs, and how spring surely comes, heavenly delights awaits for he who remains in God’s pious lights, which burn bright even in darkest night.

So, done with the rhymes it is not easy, even the tiger breaks its own poem symmetry with that of its own fearful one. Twenty-six poems about experience with this of the tiger being the most iconic of all of Blake´s poems, in it he asks this question about God in regards of the tiger:

Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Innocence and Experience, the soul’s mythic contrasting states, Infant Joy in one, Infant Sorrow in the other, The Lamb and The Tyger.

wight (waɪt ):
noun
(archaic) a human being

hie (haɪ ): 
verb
Word forms: hies, hieing, hying, hied
(archaic or poetic) to hurry; hasten; speed

woe (wəʊ )
noun
(literary) intense grief or misery
(often plural) affliction or misfortune

wailing (ˈweɪlɪŋ)
noun
prolonged high-pitched cries, as of grief or misery

Archaic English in Songs of Innocence, William Blake

A DREAM

Once a dream did weave a shade
O’er my angel-guarded bed,
That an emmet lost its way
Where on grass methought I lay.

Troubled, wildered, and forlorn,
Dark, benighted, travel-worn,
Over many a tangle spray,
All heart-broke, I heard her say:

"Oh my children! do they cry,
Do they hear their father sigh?
Now they look abroad to see,
Now return and weep for me."

Pitying, I dropped a tear:
But I saw a glow-worm near,
Who replied, "What wailing wight 
Calls the watchman of the night?

"I am set to light the ground,
While the beetle goes his round:
Follow now the beetle’s hum;
Little wanderer, hie thee home!"


emmet (ˈɛmɪt )
noun
(British) an archaic or dialect word for ant
methinks (mɪˈθɪŋks ) or methinketh (mɪˈθɪŋkɪθ):
verb
Word forms: past tense methought
(transitive; takes a clause as object) (archaic) it seems to me

wight (waɪt ):
noun
(archaic) a human being

hie (haɪ ): 
verb
Word forms: hies, hieing, hying, hied
(archaic or poetic) to hurry; hasten; speed

this one is not archaic but I like it, so...

forlorn (fəˈlɔːn ):
adjective
1. miserable, wretched, or cheerless; desolate
2. deserted; forsaken
3. (postpositive) foll by of destitute; bereft ⇒ forlorn of hope

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/

Limerick in Slaughterhouse Five

Limerick, I have often heard this word and I know it was a poem of some sort, so today I found it again, looking for a book to read I read the first pages of Slaughterhouse Five, one of the banned books, which just caught my attention becuase it was once banned, and decided to record what this word really means, so here it goes.

Full Definition of limerick from Merriam-Webster

1. :  a light or humorous verse form of five chiefly anapestic verses of which lines 1, 2, and 5 are of three feet and lines 3 and 4 are of two feet with a rhyme scheme of aabba

so here is the limerick in Slaughterhouse Five

There was a young man from Stamboul,

Who soliloquized thus to his tool,

'You took all my wealth
And you ruined my health,

And now you won't pee, you old fool’

The writer tells about the writing of this book, how it costs him money, anxiety and time, thus, the parallel with this limmerick and the tools reference..

And since we are at it..

Full Definition of soliloquy from Merriam-Webster

1. 1:  the act of talking to oneself
2. 2:  a dramatic monologue that represents a series of unspoken reflections