Penelope J. Corfield is a historian, lecturer and education consultant. She currently serves as the President of the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS).
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MONTHLY BLOG 175, TIME IN ART: IS THERE ANY ALTERNATIVE TO ‘OLD FATHER TIME’?
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. Corfield‘Old Father Time’ appears on many weathercocks. He is venerable, stooped, and bearded. He carries an hour-glass to track the minutes in its trickling sands, as he walks the long, long, endless line of Time. He also shoulders a scythe, because eventually he brings death to all living creatures…
MONTHLY BLOG 174, HOW DOES INCREASING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT FUTURE TIMES IMPACT UPON THE ART OF PROPHECY?1
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. CorfieldHumans learn from the past – and, sometimes, they gain immediate and urgent knowledge in the present too. But they cannot learn directly from the future that has not yet unfolded. That reality has not, however, prevented people from trying hard to look ahead. . .
MONTHLY BLOG 172, CAN YOU NAME FIVE STRIKING POEMS ABOUT TIME??
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. CorfieldIn contrast to the dearth of good jokes about Time, there are very many great poems on that theme. Here, however, I’ve chosen just five. Firstly, Andrew Marvell’s appeal to ‘To His Coy Mistress’ (published posthumously in 1681)2 is a magnificent example of the human awareness of life in ever-fleeting Time…
MONTHLY BLOG 171, WHY ARE THERE NO GREAT JOKES ABOUT TIME??
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. CorfieldWell, why are there no great jokes about Time? There are quite a few jokes about clocks and watches. They are not particularly funny … but they are certainly worth a gentle smile … like the following: What kind of bugs live in clocks? Answer: Ticks! Or how about this one…
MONTHLY BLOG 170, WHY THINK ABOUT TIME-SPACE, NOT SPACE-TIME??
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. CorfieldWhy think about Time-Space, instead of Space-Time? This BLOG, the second in my 2025 Time series, presents my answer. The first significant point to note is that rethinking Space-Time as Time-Space does NOT entail refuting Einstein’s theory of relativity, formulated and elaborated in the years 1905-17…
MONTHLY BLOG 169, GREAT CLOCKS OF THE WORLD
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. CorfieldMy theme for 2025 is Time – the universal subject. So to kick-start the year, here are seven great clocks of the world – my personal selection out of the myriad of possible candidates. These are all on public display (there are countless more in museums) – and drawn from all quarters of the globe.
MONTHLY BLOG 168, ANTWERP DIAMONDS: THREE BEAUTIFUL ASPECTS OF ANTWERP – DIAMOND CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
/in Civics, Monthly Blog/by Penelope J. CorfieldWell, I didn’t get my diamond ring. But, better still, I became acquainted with a great and enchanting city- which I’d never visited before. The Conference that I attended in Antwerp on ‘Time and Prophecies’ was productive and stimulating. And my partner Tony and I extended our stay in order to have some extra time to enjoy the city life. Here are my three personal diamonds …
MONTHLY BLOG 167, HICKORY DICKORY DOCK!
/in Monthly Blog, Time/by Penelope J. CorfieldWhile last month’s Conference in Norwich was evoked by the genially-smiling ‘Man in the Moon’, this month another meeting in Antwerp set me chanting ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’. The words are absurdly simple. The mouse ran up the clock! The clock struck the hour! And then the mouse ran down again!
But this basic rhyme records the perennial human fascination with telling the Time; and it illustrates, specifically, how adults sought to familiarise young children with the steady rhythms of a ticking clock…
MONTHLY BLOG 166, WHY DID THE MAN IN THE MOON – WHO CAME DOWN TOO SOON – ASK HIS WAY TO NORWICH?
/in Monthly Blog, Personal/by Penelope J. CorfieldSong historians like to point out hidden messages in such traditional verses, designed to amuse the adults who sang these songs to their unsuspecting offspring. Yet, in this case, the experts conclude that the words of ‘The Man in the Moon’ probably do not convey any secret meaning. They are simply agreeable nonsense, in which the City of Norwich features primarily to rhyme with ‘porridge’…