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When I realized that Rossetti's poem has 13 lines and
that both artists' names consist of 13 letters divided identically
between first and last names, I knew that I was being handed a
unique anagramming opportunity. So in addition to the usual
constraints of reusing the original's exact letter set, maintaining
rhyme and meter, and restating the poetic content using entirely
different words, I decided to accept the additional challenge of
incorporating a double acrostic.
There are two reasons I have chosen to reserve the primary acrostic
(first letters of each line) for "Ellin Anderson," and use the
secondary acrostic (first letters of the third word of each line)
for "Dante Rossetti." First, poetry is Anderson's primary
vocation while for Rossetti, who is known mostly for his paintings,
it is only secondary. Secondly, in addition to personally preferring
Anderson's work, I believe that history will judge her poetic output
as a pivotally important contribution to Western culture. This
is due not only to how it presages a renaissance of what is noble in
style and instructive in content, but also because of its power to
inspire those who will preserve, protect, and expand upon that
incomparable civilizational heritage of which Ellin Anderson's work
is a wonderfully representative flowering.
- Richard Brodie, August 2007 |
