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larryhammerShort shameful confession: I am still unable to read "Ode to a Nightingale," nor even the story of Ruth, without thinking of the parody line, "She stood in tears amid the alien porn."
Though I suppose that's not as bad as thinking highly inappropriate interpretations of the first four lines of this poem -- which makes the rest of the poem seem even pervier than it is. Though I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that Wordsworth is a perv. I can just imagine him parked outside the Catholic school with a pair of binoculars.
Short recent admission: Wordsworth can be good, when he manages to line up his images and sentiments in a striking way. His versecraft, though, is weak -- he generally handles rhyme competently, but his meter is muddy and the shape of lines is often shoddy. His verses rarely sing because the sound rings out in a match for the sense. Seeing a bunch of Wordsworth and Shelley mixed together brings this out -- the latter's lyrics are almost always lovely, enough so they can work despite the sense. Wordsworth doesn't pull things off if his matter isn't on. And whether he's on varies by taste; for me, it's rarely.
---L.
Though I suppose that's not as bad as thinking highly inappropriate interpretations of the first four lines of this poem -- which makes the rest of the poem seem even pervier than it is. Though I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that Wordsworth is a perv. I can just imagine him parked outside the Catholic school with a pair of binoculars.
Short recent admission: Wordsworth can be good, when he manages to line up his images and sentiments in a striking way. His versecraft, though, is weak -- he generally handles rhyme competently, but his meter is muddy and the shape of lines is often shoddy. His verses rarely sing because the sound rings out in a match for the sense. Seeing a bunch of Wordsworth and Shelley mixed together brings this out -- the latter's lyrics are almost always lovely, enough so they can work despite the sense. Wordsworth doesn't pull things off if his matter isn't on. And whether he's on varies by taste; for me, it's rarely.
---L.
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Date: 5 April 2008 05:18 pm (UTC)My younger daughter was talking about characters in stories who need to be given swords to improve their general situations and outcomes (she mentioned Beauty in Beauty and the Beast and the boy who cried wolf in ... The Boy Who Cried Wolf)--and I couldn't help but think of your ninjas; in fact, I mentioned them to her, including ninjas in Wordsworth.
phew, achieved some relevance there at the end...
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Date: 5 April 2008 10:35 pm (UTC)---L.