Heart and MindEdith Sitwell

Writer’s background informationEdith Sitwell was born on September the 7th of 1887 in the United Kingdom.

She was the eldest daughter of an aristocratic family.

She was a poet and critic.

She became a Dame Commander in 1954 and a year later, she converted to Roman Catholicism

SAID the Lion to the Lioness-'When you are amber dust,-No more a raging fire like the heat of the Sun

(No liking but all lust)-Remember still the flowering of the amber blood and bone,

The rippling of bright muscles like a sea,Remember the rose-prickles of bright paws

Though the fire of that sun the heart and the moon-cold bone are one.'

Said the Skeleton lying upon the sands of Time-'The great gold planet that is the mourning heat of the Sun

Is greater than all gold, more powerfulThan the tawny body of a Lion that fire consumes

Like all that grows or leaps...so is the heart

More powerful than all dust. Once I was HerculesOr Samson, strong as the pillars of the seas:

But the flames of the heart consumed me, and the mindIs but a foolish wind.'

Said the Sun to the Moon-'When you are but a lonely white crone,And I, a dead King in my golden armour somewhere in a dark wood,

Remember only this of our hopeless loveThat never till Time is done

Will the fire of the heart and the fire of the mind be one.'

Stanza 1SAID the Lion to the Lioness-'When you are amber

dust,-No more a raging fire like the heat of the Sun

(No liking but all lust)-Remember still the flowering of the amber blood and

bone,The rippling of bright muscles like a sea,

Remember the rose-prickles of bright pawsThough the fire of that sun the heart and the moon-

cold bone are one.'Lioness: a female lion. Amber: a yellow, red, or brown translucent fossil resin used in jewelry.Raging: showing violent uncontrollable angerLust: very strong sexual desireRippling: to (cause to) have small wavesrose-prickles: spines of the flowerPaws: an animal's foot having claws and pads

● Conversation between a lion and a lioness.● The glory of our existence should be

remembered even when we are dead.● Amber Dust: beauty even in death. ● Remember the wonderful things of nature,

because you won't be forever able to see them.

● We can live on together forever in our memory. He is saying even after death, we will continue to live on in our minds. No matter how powerful you are, there is no escape from death and you will become dust lost in the wind.

● The lion believes the heart and the mind can be one, which is a philosophy that is debated throughout the poem.

Stanza 2Said the Skeleton lying upon the sands of Time-

'The great gold planet that is the mourning heat of the Sun

Is greater than all gold, more powerfulThan the tawny body of a Lion that fire consumes

Like all that grows or leaps...so is the heart

Mourning: the expression of deep sorrow for someone who has died. Tawny: of an orange-brown or yellowish-brown color. Grows: increase, expand, developLeaps:to jump with great force

● The Skeleton speaks of being consumed by the ‘flames of the heart’.

● Metaphor: Sun is the heart. ● It ensures the sun, representing the heart,

is the most powerful thing of the world, while the mind is weak and unpowerful.

Stanza 3More powerful than all dust. Once I was Hercules

Or Samson, strong as the pillars of the seas:But the flames of the heart consumed me, and the

mindIs but a foolish wind.'

Hercules or Samson: Strong and powefrul superheroes. Pillars of the seas: the supposed boundary-columns at the entrance of the Mediterranean.

● Even Hercules or Samson could defeat and were betrayed and undone by love (the heart)

● The heart defeated and consumed them and the mind was a weak and irrelevant thing.

Stanza 4Said the Sun to the Moon-'When you are but a lonely white crone,

And I, a dead King in my golden armour somewhere in a dark wood,Remember only this of our hopeless love

That never till Time is doneWill the fire of the heart and the fire of the mind be one.'

Crone: an old woman who is thin and ugly

● Emotions are separated from intellect. ● They are both important for man but

both can never meet. ● Heart and mind: hopeless love● Both should be used and paid attention

at the time of taking decisions.

Literary AnalysisVoice: Lion, Lioness, Skeleton, Moon and Sun

Theme: Wisdom, love for nature, connection between heart and mind

Tone: Depressing, but later changes for advising and wisely.

Images: "Raging Fire" visual "Foolish Wind" auditory "Dark Wood" visual