In literature St. Elmo's fire

one of earliest references phenomenon appears in alcaeus s fragment 34a dioscuri, or castor , pollux. referenced in homeric hymn 33 dioscuri homeric times associated it. whether homeric hymn antedates alcaeus fragment unknown.

st. elmo s fire mentioned in castaways of flying dutchman brian jacques.

the phenomenon appears described first in gesta herwardi, written around 1100 , concerning event of 1070s. however, 1 of earliest direct references st. elmo s fire made in fiction can found in ludovico ariosto s epic poem orlando furioso (1516). located in 17th canto (19th in revised edition of 1532) after storm has punished ship of marfisa, astolfo, aquilant, grifon, , others, 3 straight days, , positively associated hope:

but st. elmo s fire appeared, had longed for, settled @ bows of fore stay, masts , yards being gone, , gave them hope of calmer airs.

in shakespeare s tempest (c. 1623), act i, scene ii, st. elmo s fire acquires more negative association, appearing evidence of tempest inflicted ariel according command of prospero:

prospero

hast thou, spirit,
perform d point tempest bade thee?

ariel

to every article.
i boarded king s ship; on beak,
now in waist, deck, in every cabin,
i flamed amazement: sometime d divide,
and burn in many places; on topmast,
the yards , bowsprit, flame distinctly,
then meet , join.

the fires mentioned death fires in samuel taylor coleridge s rime of ancient mariner.

about, about, in reel , rout, death fires danced @ night; water, witch s oils, burnt green , blue , white.

later in 18th century , 19th century literature associated st. elmo s fire bad omen or divine judgment, coinciding growing conventions of romanticism , gothic novel. example, in ann radcliffe s mysteries of udolpho (1794), during thunderstorm above ramparts of castle:

, tapering of light bear? said emily, see how darts upwards,—and vanishes!

light, lady , said soldier, has appeared to-night see it, on point of lance, ever since have been on watch; means cannot tell .

strange! said emily.

fellow-guard , continued man, has same flame on arms; says has seen before...he says omen, lady, , bodes no .

, harm can bode? rejoined emily.

knows not that, lady .

in herman melville s novel moby-dick, starbuck points out corpusants during thunder storm in japanese sea in chapter 119 candles .

st. elmo s fire makes appearance in adventures of tintin comic, tintin in tibet, hergé. tintin recognizes phenomenon on captain haddock s ice-axe.

in kurt vonnegut s slaughterhouse-five, billy pilgrim sees phenomenon on soldiers helmets , on rooftops. vonnegut s sirens of titan notes phenomenon affecting winston niles rumfoord s dog, kazak, hound of space, in conjunction solar disturbances of chrono-synclastic infundibulum.

in on banks of plum creek laura ingalls wilder st. elmo s fire seen girls , ma during 1 of blizzards. described coming down stove pipe , rolling across floor following ma s knitting needles; didn t burn floor (pages 309-310). phenomenon described, however, more similar ball lightning.