What does a red wolf, the Roman Empire, a Druid and a Catuvellauni King have in common? A dark prophesy looms over the Cantiaci kingdom in Linnea Tanner’s Apollo’s Raven. This is the first book in the Apollo Raven series, my copy had a total 406 pages. Relish the intrigues in this epic Celtic tale of loyalty, betrayal, love and sorcery.
Welcome to the Southeast British Isles in the year 24AD. The area is populated by a myriad of Celtic tribes and kingdoms. The Roman Empire looms large in almost every facet of their lives. This was after earlier incursions by Emperor Julius Caesar. Tribal Kings attempt to out-scheme each to gain favor with the Romans. Enter Lucius Antonius, a grandson of the great Mark Anthony and a current Roman senator. In
…show more content…
The Cantiaci princess is a capable warrior with an indomitable Raven spirit. She is fiercely loyal to her people. Her loyalty is tested by the arrival of an old enemy (the banished Prince) who has allied with the Romans. Marcellus Antonius is the senator’s son, a charming Roman - a true embodiment of the Roman god Apollo. He accompanies his father as an envoy during negotiations with the Cantiaci King. Marcellus and Catrin are immediately drawn to each other into a forbidden romance. Their affection is tested with King Amren's straining relations with Rome and the unraveling of a dark prophecy. Will the fledgling romance stop an impending conflict? Or will the child of prophesy rain doom on her people?
Few fictional books have ever roused my senses than Apollo’s Raven. Linnea Tanner served me a sumptuous dish of Celtic lore with a blend of the classic romantic tragedy and the typical game of thrones - I read the book twice over for good measure.
The characters were amazing and invoked deep emotions in me. I never knew I could hate fictional characters like I did with Agrona, the Cantiaci Queen, Pricius and Lucius. Though I empathized with Catrin and Marcellus, the Celtic brute Cynwrig was my favorite character. His Herculean build gave him an almost omnipresent feel, despite his minimal speech. I am not sure if it was his tattoos, his strength or his periodic grunts that drew me the
Though the figures are not far from each other is height comparison, they seem to contain a distinct amount of difference in other aspects. First of all, they were made from different materials. While the Apollo statue is terracotta, the Aule Metele is of bronze. Generally speaking, the Apollo statue appears in a very symbolical manner in that his features are not well defined in detail while the Aule Metele displays a type of inspiring complexity with detail.
When the Romans Invaded Briton each Celtic tribe was treated differently. The Celtic Iceni tribe kept out of the violent conflict, and because of this they were awarded ‘client kingdom’ status by the Romans. Being a client kingdom meant that the Iceni tribe maintained a considerable amount of independence. They were allowed to keep their rulers, and they were allowed to mint coin. They were bound by treaty to Rome, who in return would back them up, often against rival tribes. Yet the Romans took the view that they had the authority, to at any time intervene in the internal affairs of their client kingdoms. On the other hand the main city of the Trinovantes tribe, which was located just south of the Iceni tribe, was declared by Emperor Claudius as the capital of his British province. The Trinovantes people lost their freedom as well as having most of the...
Twenty years after the invasion, Britain was feeling oppressed by the Roman Empire, none more so than the Iceni tribe. Their late king, Prasutagus, had left the Icenian land to the Romans in his will, but on certain conditions. Upon his death, the Romans took over without abiding by any of these conditions, treating the land as if it was theirs by right of conquest. There was looting and tyranny, the king’s family was abused and the Romans savagely ruled over the Iceni. Another factor in aggravating the Britons was that the occupiers began to recall large loans which had been forced upon unwilling Britons. Some Britons were conscripted into the army, the Roman procurators wanted to extract as much wealth as could be had from the latest addition to the empire.
so that it is possible to compare the style of each with but a little
Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.
On that first fateful day, when Romulus struck down his own brother Remus, the cauldron of Rome was forged in blood and betrayal. The seeds on the Palatine hill cultured one of the most potent and stretching empires of human history. Though this civilization seemingly wielded the bolts of Zeus, they were infested with violence, vanity, and deception. Yet, one man—or seemingly “un”-man—outshone and out-graced his surroundings and everyone within it. He brought Rome several victories and rescued his beloved country from an early exodus, thus providing her a second beginning. This man was Marcus Furius Camillus, and against a logical and emotional mind, he was oft less than loved and celebrated. At times he was disregarded, insulted and even exiled—irrevocably an unwarranted method to reward Rome’s “Second Founder.” This contrast of character between hero and people was perhaps too drastic and too grand. The people were not yet ready to see Marcus Furius Camillus as a model of behavior to be emulated—to be reproduced. Hence, much of Livy’s Book 5 provides a foundation for the Roman people to imitate and assimilate a contrasting, honest, and strong behavior and temperament
Livius, Titus. The Early History of Rome. Trans. Aubrey De Sélincourt. London: Penguin Group, 2002. N. pag. Print.
Wetli, Patty. "The Raven's Bride." Booklist 1 Feb. 2011: 40+. General Reference Center Gold. Web. 12 Apr. 2011.
The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe, is instead from the latter end of the Romantic era. This narrative poem recounts a scene in which a raven visits a mourning, distraught lover, who serves as the narrator. Both of these works display dramatic presentation, symbolism, and a great sense of emotional power to create a frightening scene. Poe and Fuseli each infuse their works with dramatic energy.
Poe, Edgar Allan, and William Ladd Taylor. The Raven,. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1884. Print.
The entire poem including the first stanza, as scanned here, is octametre with mostly trochaic feet and some iams. The use of a longer line enables the poem to be more of a narration of the evening's events. Also, it enables Poe to use internal rhymes as shown in bold. The internal rhyme occurs in the first and third lines of each stanza. As one reads the poem you begin to expect the next rhyme pushing you along. The external rhyme of the "or" sound in Lenore and nevermore at then end of each stanza imitates the haunting nature of the narrator's thoughts. The internal rhyme along with the same external rhyme repeated at the end of each stanza and other literary devices such as alliteration and assonance and give the poem a driving chant-like sound. The musicality of the rhyme also helps one to memorize the poem. This helps keep the poem in your head after you've finished reading it, lingering in your thoughts just as the narrator's thoughts are haunting him. The rhyme also helps to produce a humming beat in the readers mind driving him on steadily..
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
“The Raven.” The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill 2009. Print
Richards, Eliza. "Outsourcing "The Raven": Retroactive Origins." Victorian Poetry 43.2 (2005): 205-221. Poetry & Short Story Reference Center. Web. 14 July 2014.
The first two stanzas of The Raven introduce you to the narrator, and his beloved maiden Lenore. You find him sitting on a “dreary” and dark evening with a book opened in front of him, though he is dozing more than reading. Suddenly, he hears knocking on his door, but only believes it to be a visitor nothing more. He remembers another night, like this one, where he had sought the solace of his library to forget his sorrows of his long lost beloved, and to wait for dawn. Meanwhile the tapping on his door continues.