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Feb 14, 2024 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
For Valentine's Day, a thread of my favorite love poems.

Which one's your favorite? And which ones did I miss? Let me know. Hellelil and Hildebrand, the meeting on the turret stairs, by Frederic William Burton (1864)
1. Sonnet #43, from Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦? 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴..." Image
2. Sonnet #116 by William Shakespeare

"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴
𝘈𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦
𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴..." Image
3. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe

"𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦
𝘖𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 -
𝘖𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦..."
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4. She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron

"𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴;
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵..." Image
5. I Loved You First by Christina Rossetti

"𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵: 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦
𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨..." Image
6. My Life's Delight by Thomas Campion

"𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘖 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,
𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦..." Image
7. Of Love: A Sonnet by Robert Herrick

"𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸,
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰..." Image
8. To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell

"𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦,
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘺𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺, 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦..."
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More from @CoffeewClassics

Feb 17
For President's Day, a reminder:

Of the 45 people who have served as President of the United States, at least 33 studied Latin in school.

Why? Latin Education is Leadership Education.

A brief thread: 1/ portrait of John Adams, c. 1800/1815, by Gilbert Stuart
portrait of James Madison, 1816, by John Vanderlyn
portrait of James Garfield, 1881, by Calvin Curtis
portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, 1903, by John Singer Sargent
For the Founding Generation? Latin proficiency was a prerequisite for higher education.

Adams and Jefferson were reading Cicero, Caesar, and Virgil at a young age.

Ancient Greek was expected, too.

Some, like James Madison, even studied and mastered Hebrew at university. 2/ detail from the School of Athens, 1510-11, by Raphael
Why this focus?

Because true education is about being in dialogue with the past.

And the past is a foreign country.

If you want to understand a foreign country? Learn its language.

Latin, Greek & Hebrew unlock an understanding of Western civilization's foundations. 3/ Cicero Denounces Catiline, fresco by Cesare Maccari, 1882–1888
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Feb 17
Happy President's Day!

In 1771, Thomas Jefferson's brother-in-law asked him what books every gentleman should own.

Jefferson responded with a list of hundreds.

I'll include the full list at the end of the thread, but here are a few gems I think you'll want to check out: 🧵👇 portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Charles Willson Peale (1791)
10. Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso (1581)

This Italian epic melds history with myth to tell the story of the First Crusade and its "deliverance" of Jerusalem from Muslim rule.

An inspiring chivalric tale, it is fundamentally about the clash between love and duty. Image
9. The Adventures of Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett (1748)

A picaresque novel about a young man who is disinherited and a series of misadventures that drag him across the globe, from one of the 18th-century's most popular (but now overlooked) authors. portrait of Tobias Smollett c. 1770 by an unknown painter
Read 14 tweets
Feb 14
For Valentine's Day, a top ten countdown of the best classic love poems.

Which one's your favorite? And which ones did I miss? Let me know. Hellelil and Hildebrand, the meeting on the turret stairs, by Frederic William Burton (1864)
10. Sonnet #43, from Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦? 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴..." Image
9. Sonnet #116 by William Shakespeare

"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴
𝘈𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦
𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴..." Image
Read 12 tweets
Feb 9
On this day, Feb. 9, 1881, Fyodor Dostoevsky breathed his last.

His dying wish?

For his children to be gathered around him and read a story.

It was his final lesson to his children, and it is the key to understanding his work.

Thread 👇 Portrait of the Author Feodor Dostoyevsky, 1872, by Vasily Perov
Dostoevsky's daughter Aimée recounts the scene:

“He made us come into the room, and, taking our little hands in his, he begged my mother to read the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

He listened with his eyes closed, absorbed in his thoughts..." 2/ Dostoyevsky on his death bed, drawn by Ivan Kramskoy, 29 January 1881
The parable, from Luke's Gospel, tells of a wayward son, who roams far from home, squandering his inheritance.

But, reaching rock bottom, he returns, repentant.

His father welcomes him with open arms:

For the son who "was dead... is alive again; he was lost and is found." 3/ Rembrandt: The Return of the Prodigal Son, c. 1668
Read 9 tweets
Jan 27
On this day, Jan. 27, 1302, Dante Alighieri found himself cast into the wilderness.

Not allegorically. Literally.

But only after losing everything could he find his true life's purpose.

A thread on Dante's midlife crisis, what he learned from it and you can too. 🧵👇 1/ Dante gazes at Mount Purgatory in an allegorical portrait by Agnolo Bronzino, painted c. 1530
Dante wasn't always *just* a poet. His first vocation was politics. A dangerous game in Florence.

At age 35, he was at the top of the city's political pile.

At age 37? It was all gone.

His career? Over. His wealth? Stolen.

His life? He was an exile, on pain of death. 2/ Dante in Verona, by Antonio Cotti, 1879
But only in exile was Dante finally free to do what he always wanted, but couldn't while he still had something to lose:

Write poetry that was sharp & biting.

Poems that packed a punch & a message.

So he wrote an epic that made him a literary immortal: the Divine Comedy. 3/ Image
Read 14 tweets
Jan 23
Let's have some fun and play "Finish that line..." Shakespeare edition.

Answer key at the end of the thread. Share your score in the replies.

Let's start with an easy one.

1. From Julius Caesar:

"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ____"
2. From King Lear:

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a ____"
3. From A Midsummer Night's Dream:

"Lord, what fools these ____ be..."
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