The Laughter of the Gods

By Lord Dunsany

Men laugh at the gods; they often laugh at the gods. I am more sure that the gods laugh too. It is dreadful to think of the laughter of the gods. O the lute! the lute! How clearly I hear the lute. But you all hear it? Do you not? You swear that you all hear it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Publishing LLC
• Release date: Aug 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781681463308

Lord Dunsany

Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) was a British writer. Born in London, Dunsany—whose name was Edward Plunkett—was raised in a prominent Anglo-Irish family alongside a younger brother. When his father died in 1899, he received the title of Lord Dunsany and moved to Dunsany Castle in 1901. He met Lady Beatrice Child Villiers two years later, and they married in 1904. They were central figures in the social spheres of Dublin and London, donating generously to the Abbey Theatre while forging friendships with W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and George William Russell. In 1905, he published The Gods of Pegāna, a collection of fantasy stories, launching his career as a leading figure in the Irish Literary Revival. Subsequent collections, such as A Dreamer’s Tales (1910) and The Book of Wonder (1912), would influence generations of writers, including J. R. R. Tolkein, Ursula K. Le Guin, and H. P. Lovecraft. In addition to his pioneering work in the fantasy and science fiction genres, Dunsany was a successful dramatist and poet. His works have been staged and adapted for theatre, radio, television, and cinema, and he was unsuccessfully nominated for the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature.

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Start Publishing Presents

The Laughter of the Gods

by Lord Dunsany

Start Publishing LLC

Copyright © 2015 by Start Publishing LLC

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

First Start Publishing eBook edition July 2015

Start Publishing is a registered trademark of Start Publishing LLC

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 13: 978-1-68146-330-8

Table of Contents

Act I

Act II

Act III

The Laughter of the Gods

A Tragedy in Three Acts

Dramatis Personæ

King Karnos

Voice-of-the-Gods (a prophet)

Ichtharion

Ludibras

Harpagas

First Sentry

Second Sentry

One of the Camel Guard

An Executioner

The Queen

Tharmia (wife of Ichtharion)

Arolind (wife of Ludibras)

Carolyx (wife of Harpagas)

Attendants

Act I

Time: About the time of the decadence in Babylon. Scene: The jungle city of Thek in the reign of King Karnos.

Tharmia: You know that my lineage is almost divine.

Arolind: My father’s sword was so terrible that he had to hide it with a cloak.

Tharmia: He probably did that because there were no jewels in the scabbard.

Arolind: There were emeralds in it that outstared the sea.

*

Tharmia: Now I must leave you here and go down among the shops for I have not changed my hair since we came to Thek.

Ichtharion: Have you not brought that from Barbul-el-Sharnak?

Tharmia: It was not necessary. The King would not take his court where they could not obtain necessities.

Arolind: May I go with your Sincerity?

Tharmia: Indeed, Princely Lady, I shall be glad of your company.

Arolind: [To Ludibras] I wish to see the other palaces in Thek, [To Tharmia] then we can go on beyond the walls to see what princes live in the neighbourhood.

Tharmia: It will be delightful. [Exeunt Tharmia and Arolind]

Ichtharion: Well, we are here in Thek.

Ludibras: How lucky we are that the King has come to Thek. I feared he would never come.

Ichtharion: It is a most fair city.

Ludibras: When he tarried year after year in monstrous Barbul-el-Sharnak, I feared that I would see the sun rise never more in the windy glorious country. I feared we should live always in Barbul-el-Sharnak and be buried among houses.

Ichtharion: It is mountainous with houses: there are no flowers there. I wonder how the winds come into it.

Ludibras: Ah. Do you know that it is I that