"A woman must not desire to compose," wrote one of the most promising young composers of the mid-19th century, "not one has been able to do it, and why should I expect to?" Was Clara Wieck anticipating the domestic distractions of her imminent marriage to Robert Schumann?
After all, I was trying to read a newspaper, or compose a hilarious tweet about EastEnders, or dumbly gaze out of the window like a cow obliviously trundling towards an abattoir.
"Streets, squares and monuments compose its relentless scenography where the most beautiful drama takes place.
She could weave a novel out of nothing, as Haydn could compose a symphonic movement from a couple of bars of music.
It's hard to compose a concise article on the present problems at Aston Villa and even scratch the surface.
"Now when you compose a text message or search using your voice, Bing will return results twice as fast as before and increase accuracy by 15 percent," announces Bing's speech team in a (possibly dictated) blog post.
Many are too excited to voice coherent thoughts, but when they compose, they reach for the big picture.
Today, Facebook explicitly asks "what's on your mind?", while Twitter still asks "what's happening" (after a three-year hiatus which avoided a question entirely, simply offering the option to "Compose New Tweet").
If we were expecting doubts and regrets from Tony Blair, there were none, apart from a grudging admission that it would have been better to publish the full intelligence briefing, rather than compose the "dodgy" dossier.
What was intended at the time to showcase a spirit of rationalism and modernity now showcases 1950s kitsch.Capitals, being grand national projects, invite planners and politicians to compose mighty hymns, paint patriotic scenes and indulge abstract conceits, rather than to build places to live and work.
