In my lines —Sri Aurobindo
Letters on Poetry and Art
SABCL - Volume 27
Part 2. On His Own and Others’ Poetry
Section 3. Practical Guidance for Aspiring Writers
Remarks on English Usage
On Some Words and Expressions Used by Writers of the Ashram [6]
In my lines —
This heart grew brighter when your breath’s proud chill
Flung my disperse life-blood more richly in!
a terminal “d” will at once English that Latin fellow {{0}}“disperse”,[[Sri Aurobindo had written in the margin of a typed copy of this poem: “What is this Latin fellow “disperse” doing here?” — Ed.]] but is he really objectionable? At first I had “Drove” instead of “Flung” — so the desire for a less dental rhythm was his raison d’ętre, but if he seems a trifle weaker than his English avatar, he can easily be dispensed with now.
I don’t think “disperse” as an adjective can pass,— the dentals are certainly an objection but do not justify this Latin-English neologism.
12 June 1937