...Temple haunting martlet?

This guest of summer,  
The temple-haunting martlet, does approve,
 
By his loved mansionry, that the heaven's breath
Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze,
Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird
Hath made his pendant bed and procreant cradle:
 Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed,
 The air is delicate.

That could be one interpretation or would this be more suitable, you decide:
The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty......

Both from MacBeth, my very favourite play of Shakespeare. I was lucky enough to have an excellent English teacher for A levels who gave us a thrilling ride through this black and salutory story.
We went to Schull for a bit of shopping, had lunch with TJ and then stopped off at Ardintenant castle. It's at the end of a little lane heading down to the sea. It;'s a fine chunky thing, four storeys high with massive walls and teeny windows.  This is the front entrance - the door is above ground level, the posh window is to the right, and just above you can get glimpses of the stairs. The ground floor munitions room below has been made into a stable and the first time I went, I pushed open the corrugated sheet that serves as a door and inside was a cow and her new born calf. The castle still retains a little gatehouse, now much encased in ivy and used  to store hay.  This building dates from the 15C but there might have replaced an earlier castle. And the whole thing is built inside an even earlier ringfort - interesting, eh!

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.