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Exact textual stateText

The Road to Babel

Part of The Road to Babel

StateLetter-preserved textSurviving witnesses3TSS catalogue units3Catalogue rolePrimary / default
Textual identity is not textual authority. “Catalogue primary/default” selects the default catalogue representation; it does not mean that this wording is automatically Howard’s most authoritative text.

Characters in this exact text

Exhaustively reviewed for this catalogued Poetry state. Generic lyric speakers/addressees, collectives, places and purely metaphorical allusions are not manufactured into permanent Characters.

AdamAdam — legendary first man invoked in “Lilith”Mentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285AmmonAmmon — Egyptian deity invoked in the phrase “loved of Ammon”Mentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285AstarteAstarte — ancient Near Eastern goddess invoked by nameMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285AtlasAtlas — mythological Titan said to have upheld the skyMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285DianDiana — Roman goddess invoked in the shortened form “Dian”; distinct from fictional Diana #2491Mentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285EuropaEuropa — mythological Phoenician princess invoked as an archetypeMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285EveEve — legendary woman contrasted with Lilith in “Lilith”Mentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285IshtarIshtar — ancient Mesopotamian goddess invoked in “The Road to Babel”; distinct from fictional Howard Characters #1605 and #2354Mentioned2 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285JezebelJezebel — biblical queen invoked among the damned in “The Road to Hell”; distinct from fictional Jezebel #1360Mentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285LilithLilith — ancient legendary woman invoked by Kane as a comparison for NakariMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 288LuciferLucifer — fallen angel invoked as hurled from the starry realmsMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285LunaLuna — Roman moon goddess invoked as the moon setting westwardMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285MylittaMylitta — ancient Near Eastern goddess whose girdle is invokedMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285NeroNero — Roman emperor invoked in The Dust DanceMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285PhrynePhryne — ancient Greek courtesan invoked by nameMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285PriapusPriapus — Greco-Roman fertility god invoked by his phallic signetMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285PtolemyPtolemy — Ptolemy invoked as a former lover/patron of the timeless Woman in “The Road to Babel”; which historical Ptolemy is not identifiedMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 288SapphoSappho — archaic Greek poet invoked as author of a verseMentioned1 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285SargonSargon of AkkadMentioned2 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285ThaisThais — ancient Greek courtesan invoked as an archetype of WomanMentioned2 source-counted occurrence(s) · first: Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285

Surviving manuscript evidence

The records below describe surviving physical typescripts, carbons, manuscript material and documentary catalogue evidence for this exact textual state. TSS numbers identify physical catalogue units; they are not story or draft IDs.

Original Howard typescript — TSS 82238Howard typescript
Extent1 pageCompletenessCompleteness uncertain

Physical extent: 1 catalogued TSS sheet

TSS: 82238

Original Typescript (OT) from the retained TSS catalogue.

Source: 000 TSS of REH moving towards final.xls — Poetry working list rows 558–558

Original Howard typescript — TSS 82228Howard typescript
Extent1 pageCompletenessCompleteness uncertain

Physical extent: 1 catalogued TSS sheet

TSS: 82228

Original Typescript (OT) source code; retained as an original Howard typescript witness.

Source: 000 TSS of REH moving towards final.xls — Poetry working list rows 552

Original Howard typescript — TSS 82237Howard typescript
Extent1 pageCompletenessCompleteness uncertain

Physical extent: 1 catalogued TSS sheet

TSS: 82237

Original Typescript (OT) source code; retained as an original Howard typescript witness.

Source: 000 TSS of REH moving towards final.xls — Poetry working list rows 557

Textual witnesses & editorial mediation

These records describe how this textual state is known or represented. A witness may be authorial, editorially mediated, restored, transcribed or otherwise derived without becoming a new Howard-authored textual state.

Collected Poetry UE Vol. 3 p. 285Restored reading editionAuthority basis: Restoration toward authorial text · Treatment: Restored toward authorial wording

The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard UE Vol. 3 p. 285

Published in

The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard Volume ThreeREH Foundation PressNovember 2022↗