Joseph Wright of Derby, English
“Sorry To Wake You. I Just Heard That You’ve Been Telling People That You Broke Up With Me, and I Wanted To Make Sure We Were Clear That I Broke Up with YOU. Oh, and You Might Want To Get That Lock on Your Front Door Fixed,” ca. 1785
Oil on canvas
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Info, or links that point to more info, about this artist can be found here, here (archived if necessary), here, here, here (can be read in full for free on Fridays), here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, perhaps in addition to what’s in his Wikipedia page.
/// A book of ancient ballads was compiled by Thomas Percy.
Among the tales it told was this: a ghost who showed no mercy.
Fair Margaret loved Sweet William; he had promised they would wed,
but on Sweet William’s wedding night another shared his bed.
/// Fair Margaret’s heart was broken and from grief she promptly died.
That very night the ghost of Margaret came to William’s side.
He sat bolt upright in his bed, unsure if he was dreaming,
but listened to this pallid wraith on whom the moon was gleaming.
/// She cursed her faithless lover who’d wed someone else instead.
When William woke he went to Margaret’s home and found her dead.
Now in a chilling echo of Fair Margaret’s death from grief,
Sweet William also died of shame, (an end beyond belief).
/// “I’m the grisly ghost of girlfriends past.
Villain, view my vile visage aghast.
You’ll be sleeping alone
‘til you change and atone
for the crime of love-making too fast.”
> or <
/// Scary succubi, back in the day
would bring shame to their victims, so they
had been hated and feared.
And yet, now it appeared
their prey gladly, for servicing, pay!