First published at 00:01 UTC on May 7th, 2022.
"In 1876, Wilde was moved by the atrocities against Christians in the Balkans, where the Slavs had rebelled against Turkish rule. In the following year, he wrote 'Sonnet on the Massacre of the Christians in Bulgaria', modelled after M…
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"In 1876, Wilde was moved by the atrocities against Christians in the Balkans, where the Slavs had rebelled against Turkish rule. In the following year, he wrote 'Sonnet on the Massacre of the Christians in Bulgaria', modelled after Milton's 'On the Late Massacre in Piedmont.' (Beckson and Fong 1997:61)
The figure at timestamp 1:42 is Ivan Stratsimir, the last ruler of mediaeval Bulgaria, who was killed in a crusade against the Turks. At 1:47 is Vasil Levski, a national hero of Bulgaria, who brought about a revolution to liberate Bulgaria from Turkish rule. The building at 1:49 is Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, built to honour the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish war, as a result of which Bulgaria gained independence.
Transcript:
Christ, dost thou live indeed? or are thy bones
Still straightened in their rock-hewn sepulchre?
And was thy Rising only dreamed by her
Whose love of thee for all her sin atones?
For here the air is horrid with men’s groans,
The priests who call upon thy name are slain,
Dost thou not hear the bitter wail of pain
From those whose children lie upon the stones?
Come down, O Son of God! incestuous gloom
Curtains the land, and through the starless night
Over thy Cross the Crescent moon I see!
If thou in very truth didst burst the tomb
Come down, O Son of Man! and show thy might,
Lest Mahomet be crowned instead of Thee!
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Mahler's Symphony no. 5 - I. Trauermarsch by Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony is licensed and adapted under CC BY 3.0.
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