"Let all your things be done in Love." (1 Corinthians 16:14)
Protected by Copyscape DMCA Copyright Protection

Introduction:

My photo
Current: Danbury, CT, United States
Welcome! A few years ago, I discovered an application that artists employ in their works to bring cultural awareness to their audiences. Having discerned this semiotic theory that applies to literature, music, art, film, and the media, I have devoted the blog,Theory of Iconic Realism to explore this theory. The link to the publisher of my book is below. If you or your university would like a copy of this book for your library or if you would like to review it for a scholarly journal, please contact the Edwin Mellen Press at the link listed below. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Announcements

I will present or have presented research on Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) or my semiotic theory of iconic realism at the following location(s):

2023-2025: I will be researching and writing my third book on iconic realism.

April 2022: American Conference for Irish Studies, virtual event: (This paper did not discuss Sydney Owenson.) "It’s in the Air: James Joyce’s Demonstration of Cognitive Dissonance through Iconic Realism in His Novel, Ulysses"

October, 2021: Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT: "Sydney Owenson’s use of sociolinguistics and iconic realism to defend marginalized communities in 19th century Ireland"

March, 2021: Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, North Carolina: "Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan): A Nineteenth Century Advocate for Positive Change through Creative Vision"

October, 2019: Elms College, Chicopee, Massachusetts: "A Declaration of Independence: Dissolving Sociolinguistic Borders in the Literature of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)"

28 August, 2025

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan): 19th Century Awareness of Cultural Change

           
I took this photo of Sydney Owenson's memorial plaque on Kildare Street, Dublin, Ireland.


From pages 17-18 of my book: 

Revolutionary philosophy of the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries provides momentum for the transformation of consciousness, circuitous pathways of innovation and circularity within societal parameters, creating awareness of cultural change, often through literary articulation. 

During the long eighteenth century, Sydney Owenson constructs her national tales by configuring lexical combinations of Irish, English and European colloquialisms, drawing upon the historical and philosophical perceptions of René Descartes and Immanuel Kant to transform her romantic tales into narratives of political inquiry. 

Her voice maintains a necessary fortitude in terms of her unique perspective, placing Irish ideology into the center of English culture at the onset of the Ascendancy, while she illustrates foresight in challenging the political stance of the United Kingdom in the early decades of the nineteenth century.

Ha' Penny Bridge, Dublin, Ireland

27 August, 2025

A Doe's Vision

 

A resting buck, photo from Google Images

I wrote this poem directly after viewing a young buck with antlers just emerging, find a shaded spot in the wooded glen right outside my window. He didn't know I was observing him, and he looked so peaceful, just resting there among the trees on the softened earth. He reminded me of my own 'buck,' my son, who at the time was a pre-teen...thus, the poem: 

A Doe's Vision

Rest, young buck, now rest.
Do not fear that I am watching you.
Your life is safe within my eyes.
Yes, be careful and aware
of all the new and strange annoyances
surrounding you.
Now search for that tranquility.
Nourish your body and soul.
Relax, for soon the changes come, 
and your precious, budding years
will all be gone.
Rest, my young and precious buck.
My loving eyes adore you.
Worry not.
You have found safe harbor 
in my eyes. 

© Jeanne I. Lakatos


(To hear my reading of this poem, click HERE.)

Sensuality of the Morning Garden

One morning, the birds were in their glory: singing, chirping, and busy with their daily activities. I live in an area of Connecticut that is blessed with much beautiful greenery and wildlife. Long ago, I looked at a photograph of an abandoned canoe, and the first thing that came to mind was the tranquility of an abandoned garden on a steamy day, much like the ones we have had here recently and such as the one which is the subject of my operetta, Luminescence, an interpretation of the medieval French epyllion, Roman de la Rose. 

Below is an excerpt from my operetta,
Luminescence, which might reveal a sensorial view of morning in this magical garden.  
Morning Recitative
(from my operetta, Luminescence)

Lush overgrowth 
forms an inspiring, prolific canopy
Tender petals compete
for limited radiance
of the morning’s brilliance.
Abandoned
by inheritors of this fertile land,
the garden flourishes independently 
in floral splendor.

A cooling brook meanders
through the twisted, scented undergrowth,
creating a reflective ribbon,
adorning this Eden 
with bubbling ballads.

Elegant, colorful bouquets embellish
fertile banks with a natural brilliance.
Soothing resonance musically honors the presence
of Divine intelligence.

Flowers open their petals,
attracting the arrival of winged courtiers,
who pollinate their eager pistils.
They clamor close to the wall,
reflecting wisdom of the struggle
to remain vibrant in this forgotten place.

Their beauty blends resplendent
color with fragrance,
giving the garden vitality,
as one more day brings a splendid luster
into the chaos of the untamed garden.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

I extend much gratitude to the following brilliant musicians, who have transposed (or are in the process of transposing) an Irish melody compiled by Sydney Owenson (1804) into 5 musical genres for this operetta: Dr. Marjorie Callaghan (medieval) and Mr. Daniel Kean (baroque and classical).

26 August, 2025

A Sonnet: Four Soles, Soulful Foursome

This precious photo displays two young boys, one holding the reigns, one holding a beloved dog, on a cart, pulled by a devoted mule. As another example of ekphrasis, the photo is one on which I've based my sonnet, written in a Spenserian Sonnet format from the 16th century English poet, Edmund Spenser.

For fun, click onto: Billy Collins former United States Poet Laureate, to read his satirical view of sonnets, cleverly entitled, "Sonnet."


Four Soles,  Soulful Foursome

Idyllically, they travel with an aim
and quickly learn that truth rests in a friend, 
for surely, they’ll discover life’s no game. 
A splendid road will definitely bend. 

These traveling souls of four know not of end, 
for they rely on trusting gifts of love: 
one pulls with strength, one’s job is to attend: 
two brothers with one dog, blessed from above 

with dreams conjoined like wings that lift the dove. 
Four souls of spirit and vitality
advance with might and shared awareness of
their vision for determined liberty.

A humble vessel pulled by four strong soles,
transporting dreams, fulfilling simple goals.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos 

25 August, 2025

The Long Eighteenth Century Political Writing of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

My collection of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) books

Citizenry rise to proclaim their independence from legislative taxation without corresponding representation in individual communities. This cry for autonomy creates the atmosphere for the eighteenth century American colonists to stand strong against any form of tyranny and eventually to create a unique form of government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”  This concept resonates with Owenson, as she rewrites her own history to correspond with major events belonging to the American colonists’ revolutionary actions.  

In the eighteenth century, the scientific world embarks on new discoveries. Sight, sound, and the universe embody the main thought patterns during this time. In this context, Marjorie Hope Nicolson observes, “the increasing self-consciousness of the eighteenth century about the sense of sight (leads) to a growing interest in all senses, their processes, and their interrelationship, and to an awareness of the ‘harmony of the senses.’” This encompasses those sensory stimuli, which affect every aspect of the human being. 

Owenson: 
To make her native country better known, and to dissipate the political and religious prejudices that hindered its prosperity...in her works, there was always some principle to be advocated or elucidated…Neither lovers, friends, nor flatterers, ever turned her attention from the steady, settled aim of her life-- and that was to advocate the interest of her country in her writing. (Memoirs, p. 284)

In this manner,  Owenson makes references to familial attributes in her descriptions of relations between Great Britain, America, and Ireland.

 _____________________________________
Marjorie Hope Nicolson, Newton Demands the Muse: Newton's Opticks and the Eighteenth Century Poets, (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1966), p 87.

23 August, 2025

Physics of Divine Love


Physics of Divine Love 

Harmony and illumination unconfined
by restrictions of the human mind 
impetuously flit throughout the universe
in joyful exhilaration. 

God's eye sees the vibrance.
God's ear hears the exuberance. 
God's hand touches the human heart. 
God's wisdom guides the human soul
to learn the truth of Divine Love. 

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

To hear me recite this verse, please click HERE.

22 August, 2025

Fractal Force

A few years ago, another blogger gave our poetry group a line prompt to use for our weekly poetry read. The line was as follows: "I am a crooked line." Well, the first thought that came to my mind was FRACTALS! I simply changed the word 'crooked' to 'fractal.' 
To view more fractals and listen to some ambient music, click HERE.

Incredible fractals found in Nature: Fiddlehead Ferns
Photo from Google Images

Fractal Force
I am a fractal line.
My course
aligns with the Spirit.
A conforming
non-conformist,
I weave between
giving and receiving
forthright
with humble regard for
pure
infinite
ubiquitous
Love.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

To hear me recite this verse, click the link HERE.