Fifty-One Tales · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Fifty-One Tales by Lord Dunsany.

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Chapter 1
The Assignation
The poet creates enduring songs for Fame, but she prefers the ephemeral garlands of the crowd. When he rebukes her, she promises to meet him in a graveyard in a hundred years.
Chapter 2
Charon
Charon, the ferryman of the dead, rows endlessly across the grey river, burdened by an eternal weariness. The dead come in unprecedented numbers, then suddenly stop. A single, last man arrives, and after being ferried to Dis, he reveals he is the last of humanity, a revelation that moves Charon to an unprecedented emotional response.
Chapter 3
The Death of Pan
Travellers from London enter Arcady and lament the death of Pan, finding him stiff and still. As they stand mournfully by his body, Arcadian maidens arrive and laugh at the sight, causing Pan to leap up and pursue them, filling Arcady with sounds of pursuit.
Chapter 4
The Sphinx at Giza
The narrator observes the Sphinx's painted face and her flirtation with Time, hoping she will lure his secret from him so that humanity can blind and enslave Time, preventing him from destroying beautiful things. The chapter explores the futile human desire to control time and the fear that Time's ultimate anguish might bring down the House of Man.
Chapter 5
The Hen
A hen, inspired by the swallows' annual migration south, attempts her own journey but only reaches the garden at the end of the road. Upon returning, she describes her limited travels as a grand adventure, and the poultry prefer her account over the swallows' tales of the sea.

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The Assignation

Charon

The Death of Pan

The Sphinx at Giza

The Hen