Summer, Poem by Robert L Stevenson, Paintings by Matisse

In the middle of all this glorious weather I have to post about …. SUMMER. And because I liked doing the poem plus painting thing last week, I’m going to do it all over again this week.

The poem is

The Summer Sun Shone Round Me

by

Robert Louis Stevenson

above; landsape at collioure

THE summer sun shone round me,
The folded valley lay
In a stream of sun and odour,
That sultry summer day.

above; le bonheur vivre

The tall trees stood in the sunlight
As still as still could be,
But the deep grass sighed and rustled
And bowed and beckoned me.

above; les toils cullioure

The deep grass moved and whispered
And bowed and brushed my face.
It whispered in the sunshine:
"The winter comes apace."

 above; luxe calme et volupte

 above; out of the window

The paintings are by Matisse; 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse

Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954. A French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.

Another example of how TamO'Shanter has been illustrated.

Another example of how TamO'Shanter has been illustrated.

Tam O’Shanter has been the inspiration for many artists. These old prints are the original illustrations to the poem by John Faed


 
John Faed (1820- 1902)
First published in 1892 Title:
Tam O'Shanter and the Witches
Illustration to the poem of Robert Burns

One of Burns' best-loved tales is the story of a farmer from Maidens who, against  his wife's good advice, gets into trouble as a result of his fondness for drink and an eye for the lasses. The poem is a favourite feature of Burns Suppers across the world and many Scottish pubs will give a free dram or two to anyone who can give a good recitation, start to finish, a good recital means in a good rendering of the old dialect.  

The story, which was inspired by the local tales Burns heard as a boy, is set in Ayr and Alloway, and reaches its scary but comic climax at the old Brig O'Doon. Burns based the poems  characters on his own friends and characters he knew from the local taverns. In her memoir of Burns, his wife, Jean Armour, recalls watching him laughing as he walked along the banks of the River Nith, gesturing wildly and composing the poem out loud. 

Perhaps more than any other of his poems, Tam O'Shanter captures the spirit of poetry that was first awakened in the young Robert Burns, sitting around the fire in Burns Cottage and listening to the ghost stories of old Betty Davidson.
 
The late medieval Brig O’Doon was chosen by Burns for the climax of his tale, Tam O’Shanter. It spans the beautiful river Doon, the auld brig (old bridge) gives visitors a chance to walk on the very spot where Tam’s mare, Meg, made her last heroic leap for freedom - leaving her tail still in the clutches of Nan, the “Cutty Sark” witch.