About David Gosselin

Mr. Gosselin is a poet, translator, and linguist based in Montreal. He is the founder of The Chained Muse poetry website and the founder of the New Lyre Podcast.

Edgar Allan Poe & the Mask of the 20th Century

By |2023-10-06T20:30:44-05:00October 6th, 2023|Categories: Beauty, Culture, Edgar Allan Poe, Literature, Timeless Essays|

The name Edgar Allan Poe conjures images of the macabre, murder, insanity, and self-destruction, but is this the real Edgar Poe? BUT for the cruel aspersions upon the character and life of America’s poetic genius, EDGAR ALLAN POE, this volume would have remained unwritten. EDGAR ALLAN POE has been more misunderstood than any other poet [...]

Beyond the Lines: Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

By |2023-01-28T16:43:06-06:00January 28th, 2023|Categories: Poetry, Robert Frost, Timeless Essays|

A century after its composition, Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” continues to leave readers, academics, poetry lovers, and poets alike pondering its meaning. Undoubtedly, the poem has a magical quality: its images are simple, yet elusive; the scene of dark woods, snow-blanketed trails, and a single farmhouse are painted with clarity, [...]

C.S. Lewis’ “Weight of Glory”: Longing in the Poets, Composers, & Theologians

By |2022-07-02T13:31:50-05:00July 2nd, 2022|Categories: C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Music, Poetry, Religion, Theology|

People are often ashamed or confused about the idea of wrestling with eternal longing because it means first acknowledging a very specific kind of emptiness, one that can’t be filled by cake or any other earthly pleasure. C.S. Lewis gives his listeners heart by echoing St. Augustine, who said “God gives where he finds empty [...]

Beyond the Lines: Shelley’s “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”

By |2022-04-25T21:27:10-05:00April 26th, 2022|Categories: Beauty, Poetry|

Understanding Beauty as Percy Bysshe Shelley does—as a principle, like Truth or Justice—should lie at the heart of any rigorously-developed classical curriculum that aims to inspire a new generation of poets, scientists, artists, and genuinely creative citizens. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”—perhaps one of his greatest works—is a wonderfully Platonic exploration of the [...]

Song: “They Toil Not, Neither Do They Spin”

By |2022-03-27T14:04:50-05:00March 27th, 2022|Categories: Poetry|

They toil not, neither do they spin Mathew 6:28 They toil not, neither Do they spin, these soulful sprites— These sweet birds of song. They toil not, neither Do they spin, these brave songsters— These faithful soldiers. Like wraiths in the day, Hiding among trembling leaves, They whisper like wind. They sing in shadows, Beneath [...]

“Modern Dreams: Twilight Dreams”

By |2021-02-10T16:06:47-06:00March 14th, 2021|Categories: Poetry|

She looked at me with all the mystery of twilight stars; She spoke in words I thought only the stars could glean. She smiled with lips as precious as sweet Sappho’s’ lips, Although her eyes gleamed like an ancient sibyl’s eyes— […]

“Modern Dreams: Fairer Dreams”

By |2021-01-12T10:13:25-06:00January 31st, 2021|Categories: Poetry|

I’ve dreamt dreams fairer than my father’s dreams— I’ve dreamt dreams fairer than my mother’s dreams— Dreams dreamt by strangers stranger than ourselves— Dreams dreamt by travelers older than ourselves— […]

“Modern Dreams: Fresh Picked Roses”

By |2020-11-03T13:43:01-06:00November 15th, 2020|Categories: Poetry|

A rose is lying in the summer mud— The dew still fresh from when it fell last night. A phoenix sinks into a sea of sands— See how the midnight’s sky outshines the day? It’s true—a comet burns one moment then It fades and scatters on the cosmic surf. […]

Shakespeare’s Sonnets: The Secret to Immortality

By |2022-04-22T11:23:14-05:00April 25th, 2020|Categories: Imagination, Literature, Poetry, William Shakespeare|

William Shakespeare (baptized April 26, 1564, died April 23, 1616) is arguably the greatest writer in any language. Shakespeare’s classical poetry is not only one of the most exalted examples of what an immortal sense of creative identity can accomplish, it is a symbol of the artist’s immortality, and timelessness itself. As today’s coronavirus crisis [...]

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