Poem

Melusine (Eng)

Title Melusine (Eng)
Author Paul Muldoon

Instances of Publication

A published appearance of this poem.

Collection/Anthology Year of Publication Medium View Details
The Fifty Minute Mermaid 2007 Print Collection View Details
Publication Instance Details #802
Collection/Anthology Details
Collection/Anthology The Fifty Minute Mermaid
Date of Publication 2007
Publisher The Gallery Press (Ireland)
Page Number(s) 137, 139
Publication Overview
Translation Is Multilingual Explicit Irish Context? Ekphrasis Has Paratext? Reference to News, Media or Technology
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Details
Human Rights Issues
Irish Context
Languages
Original Language
Original Poem
Original Author
Genre Part Of Lyric Sequence
Medium Print Collection
Notes The sequence of poems, 'Na Murúcha a Thriomaigh', makes use of the international folktale of the mermaid to construct an allegorical world in which the merpeople have left the water and now live uneasily among humankind on land. The cause of their displacement is not specified, although ethnic cleansing is mentioned in one poem in the sequence. This poem draws specifically on European folklore: Melusine is a mermaid-like water spirit associated with freshwater, holy wells, or rivers. Building on the overall themes of displacement and culture shock in the sequence, this poem raises questions about intergenerational violence and trauma.
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