Cadenus and Vanessa

Cadenus and Vanessa is a poem by Jonathan Swift about one of his lovers, Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa), written in 1712 and published as a book in 1726, three years after the death of Vanhomrigh. [1] It contains in its title an anagram and a neologism: Cadenus is anagram of the Latin de canus, Swift was dean of St Patrick's, and known as Dean Swift in the manner of the time; the neologism is Vanessa, in secret reference to Esther Vanhomrigh, the name starts with the first three letters of her surname and the first two of her first name.

With this poem Swift created the popular woman's name Vanessa.

See also

References

  1. ↑  Stephen, Leslie (1898). "Swift, Jonathan". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography. 55. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 215.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.