A literary and artistic summary of our production

Extracts from national literatures and art
concerning man-animal relationship
APE – ANIMAL PROTECTION IN EUROPE
POETRY
E. A. Poe – The Raven - Germany
The Raven as a wise being
Quotes:
“Perched upon a bust of Pallas just
above my chamber door“, V41
“stately raven of the saintly days of
yore”, V38
“Prophet”, V85
Butterflies in poetry - Poland
Wind rocks the myrtle and the lemon tree
It lulls the mimosa with its refrain
Above the rose a butterfly is sailing free.
Above my head a white aeroplane.
Flying past the rose, dark and hot,
The butterfly is heading overseas.
A blind pilot, a frantic pilot
Flies over me.
R. Kipling – The Jungle Book - Spain
MUSICAL INTERPRETATION OF SOME
POEMS OF THE BOOK.
Each chapter begins
and
finishes
with
a
poem.We have chosen
some poems of this book,
which has been musically
interpreted by some of our
students from the first year
“bachillerato”. Notice how
the
music
tries
to
represent
the
animal
character in each poem.
The music tries to imitate
the characteristics of each
animal, their sounds, their
way of walking, etc.
Tiger--Tiger!
What of the hunting, hunter bold?
Brother, the watch was long and cold.
What of the quarry ye went to kill?
Brother, he crops in the jungle still.
Where is the power that made your pride?
Brother, it ebbs from my flank and side.
Where is the haste that ye hurry by?
Brother, I go to my lair to die!
U. Saba, The Goat – To my wife (essay) - Italy
Ho parlato a una capra.
Era sola sul prato, era legata.
Sazia d'erba, bagnata
dalla pioggia, belava.
Quell'uguale belato era fraterno
al mio dolore. Ed io risposi,
prima
per celia, poi perché il dolore è
eterno,
ha una voce e non varia.
Questa voce sentiva
gemere in una capra solitaria.
In una capra dal viso semita
sentiva querelarsi ogni altro
male,
ogni altra vita.
I talked to a goat.
She was alone in a pasture, and
tethered.
Stuffed with grass, soaked
by the rain, she bleated.
That monotonous bleating was
brother
to my sorrow. And I answered,
first
in jest, then because sorrow is
eternal,
has one voice and never changes.
I heard this voice in the wails
of a solitary goat.
In a goat with a Semitic face,
I heard all other pain lamenting,
all other lives
Essay: CATTLE - Italy
T’amo, o pio bove; e mite un sentimento
I love thee, pious ox ; a gentle feeling
di vigore e di pare al cor m’infondi,
Of vigour and of peace thou giv'st my heart.
o che solenne come un monumento
How solemn, like a monument, thou art!
tu guardi i campi liberi e fecondi,
Over wide fertile fields thy calm gaze stealing,
o che al giogo inchinandoti contento
Unto the yoke with grave contentment kneeling,
l’agil opra de l’uom grave secondi: To man's quick work thou dost thy strength impart.
ei t’esorta e ti punge, e tu co ‘l lento
He shouts and goads, and answering thy smart,
giro de’ pazienti occhi rispondi.
Thou turn'st on him thy patient eyes appealing.
Da la larga narice umida e nera
From thy broad nostrils, black and wet, arise
Fuma il tuo spirito, e come un inno lieto Thy breath's soft fumes; and on the still air swells,
Il mugghio nel sereno aer si perde;
Like happy hymn, thy lowing's mellow strain.
e del grave occhio glauco entro l’austera
In the grave sweetness of thy tranquil eyes
dolcezza di rispecchia ampio e quieto
Of emerald, broad and still reflected dwells
il divino del pian silenzio verde.
All the divine green silence of the plain.
PROSE
A Bulgarian folk tale: Logger and Bear – Bulgaria, Stara Zagora
Once a logger passed by a thorny bush.
From there, he heard rustling, looked to
see what was happening and saw a
small bear entangled in thorns. It tried
to get away and then the logger helped
him.
Aesop’s Fables - Greece
Many stories included in Aesop's Fables,
such as The Fox and the Grapes (from
which the idiom "sour grapes" derives),
The Tortoise and the Hare, The North
Wind and the Sun, The Boy Who Cried
Wolf and The Ant and the Grasshopper
are well-known throughout the world.
A very hungry fox walked into a vineyard
where there was an ample supply of
luscious looking grapes. Grapes had
never looked so good, and the fox was
famished. However, the grapes hang
higher than the fox could reach.
St Francis of Assisi -The little flowers - Italy
Al
tempo
che
santo
Francesco dimorava nella
città
di
Agobbio
nel
contado di Agobbio appari
un
lupo
grandissimo,
terribile e feroce, il quale
non solamente divorava gli
animali ma eziandio gli
uomini, in tanto che tutti i
cittadini stavano in gran
paura, però che spesse
volte s'appressava alla
città, e tutti andavano
armati quando uscivano
della città, come s'eglino
andassono a combattere; e
con tutto ciò non si
poteano difendere da lui,
chi in lui si scontrava solo.
E per paura di questo lupo
e' vennono a tanto, che
nessuno era ardito d'uscire
fuori della terra.
At the time when St Francis
was living in the city of
Gubbio,
a
large
wolf
appeared
in
the
neighbourhood, so terrible
and so fierce, that he not
only
devoured
other
animals, but made a prey of
men also; and since he
often approached the town,
all the people were in great
alarm, and used to go about
armed, as if going to battle.
Notwithstanding
these
precautions, if any of the
inhabitants ever met him
alone, he was sure to be
devoured, as all defence
was useless: and, through
fear of the wolf, they dared
not go beyond the city
walls.
M. Cervantes – Don Quixote - Spain
Rocinante was the horse of Don Quixote.
Don Quixote was accompanied in all his
adventures by Rocinante, fighting giants
and armies of soldiers, Rocinante was a
very thin and tall horse. Don Quixote
always trusted him in all his adventures
and spoke to him as if he were his
confident friend. He always trusted on his
horse.
Sancho Panza's donkey had no name but was
called by Sancho ”RECIO” whose term refers
to a feature of the fur of animals, in
particular light brown, white or grey.
He accompanied Sancho and Quijote during the
trip.
The town Musician of Bremen - Germany
Once upon a time an old, worn-out donkey
was on his way to Bremen to become a
town musician. On his way he met a old
and tired dog. The donkey invited him to
share his way to the town and become
town musician, too
On their journey to Bremen donkey and dog met a
cat that should be drowned. She also went with
them, for she knew how to do night music. Soon
they met a cock that was meant to be killed by the
cook. He also hurried and went with the musicians
because he had a good voice
Mythological Animals
The Centaur Chiron - Greece
Chiron was the eldest and wisest of the
Centaurs, a tribe of half-horse men.
Unlike the rest of this tribe he was an
immortal god, a son of the Titan Kronos
and half-brother of Zeus.
Chiron's mother was the nymph Philyra
who was coupling with Kronos when his
wife suddenly appeared on the scene. To
escape
notice
he
transformed himself into a horse,
and in this way sired a half-equine
son.
Some time later when a tribe of
Centaurs were spawned on Mount
Pelion by the cloud nymph Nephele,
Chiron and his daughters took them
into their care and raised them as
their own
Nuberu - Spain
This tiny and very dark man is a monster
of
Asturian
origin.
His
appearance
is always a foreigner, because he shreds
crops, hence the name 'Nuberu' (when cloud
and storm join).He usually wears a big hat
Water girls
Inhabit rivers, springs and streams throughout
Spain. They are very feminine and seductive and,
unlike the mermaids have no part of a
fish. Protect the female, so they are relentless with
men who leave women behind to seduce. They
symbolize the danger of falling into temptation, and
the risks of impatience, hence the sailors who
hear siren voices lost and end up drowning in the
sea.
CUELEBRE - Spain
It's a huge snake with bat wings. It comes from the Asturian mythology and
symbolizes the fear of the dark, so it is a creeping thing that creeps on the
ground and lives within the earth.
Aminals in Norse Mythology - Germany
Animals connected to
Odin (Wodan), Sigfrid:
Hugin and Munin
Geri and Freki
Sleipnir
Midgard-Snake
Fenrir
Hati and Skalli
Nidoeggr
The Lindworm
Grani
Dante –The Divine Comedy –Cerberus and Geryon- Italy
Cerbero, fiera crudele e diversa,
con tre gole caninamente latra
sovra la gente che quivi è sommersa.
Li occhi ha vermigli,
la barba unta e atra,
e ’l ventre largo, e unghiate le mani;
graffia li spirti ed iscoia ed isquatra.
Cerberus, monster cruel and uncouth,
With his three gullets like a dog is barking
Over the people that are there submerged.
Red eyes he has, and unctuous beard and black,
And belly large, and armed with claws his hands;
He rends the spirits, flays, and quarters them.
Ecco la fiera con la coda aguzza,
che passa i monti e rompe i muri e l'armi!
Ecco colei che tutto il mondo appuzza! (vv. 1-3)
Behold the beast who bears the pointed tail,
who crosses mountains shatters weapons, walls!
Behold the one whose stench fills all the world!
Animals in Religion - Greece
The
serpent
which
is
identified
with
wisdom
("Now the serpent was more
subtle than any beast of the
field which the Lord God had
made") lured Eve with the
promise
of
forbidden
knowledge thus causing the
fall of Adam and Eve. This
did not only have a radical
change in the relationship
with God but also between
man and creation.
Aside from the cross, the fish is the most
commonly associated symbol of Jesus
today. An old acronym about Jesus spells
out the Greek word for fish, namely
Ιησούς Χριστός Θεού Υιός Σωτήρ"
[ Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour ]
Monuments to Animals - Poland
There is a monument to a donkey
at the corner of Żeglarska Street
and Szeroka Street in Toruń. It is
1.5 m high and 2 m long. It is very
friendly and charming, but once it
served as a punishment.
‘This project has been funded with
support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only
of the author, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use
which may be made of the information
contained therein.’