Violent Fantasies on the Rivers of Babylon: A Symposium on Psalm 137:9

Symposium

Violent Fantasies on the Rivers of Babylon: A Symposium on Psalm 137:9

Capturing Pain in Poetry

A Taunt So Cruel It Will Freeze an Enemy’s Blood

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"Capturing Pain in Poetry." TheTorah.com, February 28, 2015. https://www.thetorah.com/article/psalm-137-9-capturing-pain-in-poetry.

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"Capturing Pain in Poetry" (2015, February 28). TheTorah.com. https://www.thetorah.com/article/psalm-137-9-capturing-pain-in-poetry

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Morality and Ethics

Published: February 28, 2015

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Last Updated: September 7, 2026

  1. Senator William Learned Marcy (1786-1857) of New York coined this phrase in 1832, as part of a speech defending Andrew Jackson’s “spoils” system of appointing his supporters to office upon his election to president. (The spoil in question was the appointment of Martin Van Buren as ambassador to England.)

  2. “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads” Second Edition. 1800. Accessed at http://www.bartleby.com/39/36.html  December 29, 2015.

Dr. Rabbi Eliezer (Louis) Finkelman received semikhah at R.I.E.T.S. of Yeshiva University and earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at City University of New York, writing on the theme of Cain and Abel in the Romantic Period. He served… Read More
Related Topics:PoetryPsychologyHuman Experience

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