Poetry References in The Film
The film has two poetry references, one visual, the other verbal:
Old Arabic Love Poem on Persian Carpet: When Laura comes to see Alec at his friend's flat, there is a Middle Eastern rug hung on the wall. The style of the rug itself confirms it is Persian, however, the beautiful calligraphy is Arabic. It is from a 9th century love poem by the Arab poet Ali Bin Salwa Al-qusari. it reads from right-hand corner of the rug and going anti-clockwise: The Utterance of Passion - In My Eye - Speaks To You!
The poem that Fred asks Laura to assist him with is by John Keats: "When I have Fears that I may Cease to Be". The actual quote Fred recites is 'When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face, Huge cloudy symbols of a high Romance ....'.
Read more about this topic: Brief Encounter
Famous quotes containing the words poetry and/or film:
““Poetry’s unnat’ral; no man ever talked poetry ‘cept a beadle on boxin’ day, or Warren’s blackin’ or Rowland’s oil, or some o’ them low fellows; never you let yourself down to talk poetry, my boy.””
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
“The motion picture is like a picture of a lady in a half- piece bathing suit. If she wore a few more clothes, you might be intrigued. If she wore no clothes at all, you might be shocked. But the way it is, you are occupied with noticing that her knees are too bony and that her toenails are too large. The modern film tries too hard to be real. Its techniques of illusion are so perfect that it requires no contribution from the audience but a mouthful of popcorn.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)