Proserpine is a verse drama written for children by the Romantic writers Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary wrote the blank verse drama and Percy contributed two lyric poems. Composed in 1820 while the Shelleys were living in Italy, it is often considered a partner to the Shelleys' play Midas. Proserpine was first published in the London periodical The Winter's Wreath in 1832. The drama is based on Ovid's tale of the abduction of Proserpine by Pluto, which itself was based on the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. Mary Shelley's version focuses on the female characters. In a largely feminist retelling from Ceres's point of view, Shelley emphasises the separation of mother and daughter and the strength offered by a community of women. Ceres represents life and love, and Pluto represents death and violence. The genres of the text also reflect gender debates of the time. Proserpine is part of a female literary tradition which, as feminist literary critic Susan Gubar describes it, has used the story of Ceres and Proserpine to "re-define, to re-affirm and to celebrate female consciousness itself". However, the play has been both neglected and marginalised by critics.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proserpine_%28play%29
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
American Revolution: Patrick Henry made his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses, urging the legislature to take military action against the British Empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_me_liberty_or_give_me_death
1868:
Governor of California Henry Huntly Haight signed a law establishing the University of California, today a public university system that is considered a model for public institutions across the United States. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California
1933:
The German Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, essentially giving German Chancellor Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers by granting him and the Cabinet the authority to enact laws without the participation of the Reichstag. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933
1940:
Pakistan Movement: During its three-day general session, the Muslim League drafted the Lahore Resolution, calling for greater autonomy in British India. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore_Resolution
1996:
Lee Teng-hui was elected President of the Republic of China in the first direct presidential election in Taiwan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Teng-hui
2007:
Iranian military personnel seized 15 British Royal Navy personnel from HMS Cornwall, claiming that the British ship sailed into Iran's territorial waters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Iranian_seizure_of_Royal_Navy_personnel
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
furlough (n): (US) A leave of absence or vacation, especially one granted to a member of the armed forces, or to a prisoner http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/furlough
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. --Jesus http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jesus