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Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: February 16th, 2009, 4:32 pm
by Stanley Anderson

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: February 18th, 2009, 11:04 pm
by moogdroog
That's fantastic! I love the line 'Alcasan is on the move' and Wither's 'It's all in Nietzsche! What DO they teach them in the Objectivity Rooms these days!" Very good indeed.

Keeping with the Cosmic Trilogy theme...

“The tragedy of my life,” said Weston, inhaling deeply on a hookah, “and indeed of the modern intellectual world in general, is the rigid specialisation of ravens as ravens and writing desks as writing desks. We must rise above such primitive nonsense! There is interchange – exchange – mutable boundaries! Why – one thing may well be the same thing, only entirely different in shape and form and substance. Do take more tea, Ransom.”

“A writing desk is a raven, or a raven is a writing desk?” Ransom said, shaking his head at the offer of tea. Weston snorted in derison and waggled his finger at him.

“Don’t be a fool, Ransom! All you have to do is take a bite from the other side of the mushroom. You are far too small to see things as they really are.”

Ransom thought this entirely absurd, but politeness kept him from saying so. “I’m terribly sorry,” he said, “but I must be going.I mustn’t keep Maledil waiting.” He glanced at his pocket watch and his look changed to one of horror. “Oh no! I’m late, I’m late!”

“The Lady is asleep again,” remarked Weston, and poured a little hot tea on her nose.

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: February 22nd, 2009, 8:42 pm
by galion
Come on now, gentlemen - you've been skipping your medication, haven't you? :wink:

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: February 23rd, 2009, 8:25 pm
by moogdroog
*twitches ever so slightly*

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: February 23rd, 2009, 9:53 pm
by Stanley Anderson
Poem of the Rings of Power
From the musical version of LotR (sung to the tune of "My Favourite Things")

(first verse)
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the heavens,
Dwarf-lords in stone halls, rings numbering seven,
Nine for the Mortal Men doomed from the start,
One for the Dark Lord who sits in the dark

(second verse)
Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul,
ash nazg thrakatulûk, ash nazg krimpatul.
("agh burzum-ishi", above, you should sing)
These are a few of the magical rings

(break)
One to rule them,
One to find them,
One to bring them all
It simply binds all of the magical rings
In Morder where Shaa---dows fall

--------------------------
Before the Black Gate the armies of the West await their doom as they seem to be overwhelmed by evil forces. Pippin suddenly breaks out into song (to the tune of "The Sound of Music")

The hills are a hive
with a swarm of Uruks
with rocks they have slung
for a thousand years

The hills fill my heart
with a dread of Uruks
My sword wants to slay ev'ry orc that it fears...

--Stanley

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: February 23rd, 2009, 10:55 pm
by Stanley Anderson

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: February 24th, 2009, 5:07 am
by Stanley Anderson
This isn't actually a new item for me. I ran across this in an old file. It was actually an effort that I did in an earlier version of these forums in a creative writing thread where each week three "random" words were proposed and then people would write (something like) 500 or less word stories that used all three words. In this example I decided to do "Fellowship of the Ring" as a series of sonnets. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the three words were that were supposed to be used. In any case, combining that book with the sonnet form seems like a bit of a "chimeric" exercise (if I push the definition some:-), so here is that effort from several years ago:

The Fellowship of the Ring as Three Sonnets

When Bilbo gave his riddle-woven ring
Away, the fate of Middle-Earth was left
In Frodo’s hand. Then Gandalf warned him: Bring
It safe to Rivendell where elves bereft

Of Valinor still dwell in green vale there.
Past Willow, Bombadil, and Barrow Wight
He fled with Merry, Pip, and Sam to share
A terror clad in black. But from its sight

Them Strider hid, till, fell on Weathertop,
A knife was drawn, and stealth abandoned. Now
Athelas e’en could not the fading stop.
But Glorfindel rode forth. To not allow

The wraiths to cross, a raging equine froth
Was conjured. Drowned they were by Grey of cloth.

In fair Imladris gathered now the race
Of Elf and Man and Dwarf and Halfling long
Foretold in Gondor. Boromir would trace
Isildur’s Bane, yet Elrond’s counsel wrong

He thought. Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn,
With Frodo, Pippin, Merry, Mithrandir
And Sam, he joined to find -- his silver horn
Announced -- Mount Doom within the Land of Fear.

Caradhras barred their passage over snow.
Instead the wizard led them down to moon-
Lit gate through darkened Dwarvish caverns so
Immense and deep, that Bridge of Khazad-Dum

Held no release from Morgoth’s beast of Hell.
The others fled, but there Olorin fell.

Past Mirrormere and over Nimrodel
They came at last to gold Lothlorien.
And at the fountain of Galadriel,
Her virtue by the ring was tested then.

A box of earth; of star Eärendil,
Its light enclosed -- the Lady gifts bestowed
Before the company departed. Still
A fellowship, the Anduin they rowed.

At Rauros Falls the bearer of the ring
Must make a hard decision. Gondor’s son,
Seduced by power, tried to take this thing
From Frodo suddenly, the break begun.

The halfling chose on top of Amon Hen
To leave alone. And Sam went with him then.

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: February 24th, 2009, 9:27 am
by galion
Yes, I did wonder about moogdroog's gender, but worked on the old principle of "tact" (plumber, asked what "tact" means gives the example: "I went into the bathroom, and there was the lady of the house taking a bath - so I says 'Excuse me,sir. That's tact that is, and I got an extra ten shillings for it.")

But male or female, elf or orc ... I still think you should go back on the old chlorpromazine.

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: March 23rd, 2009, 7:54 pm
by moogdroog
I like the plumber story! No worries, Galion. Droogs are male, after all.

Wonderful stuff, Stanley. I like the 'Favourite Things' LOTR very much :) and the sonnets are beautiful. My favourite lines are:

"The wraiths to cross, a raging equine froth
Was conjured. Drowned they were by Grey of cloth."

"A box of earth; of star Eärendil,
Its light enclosed -- the Lady gifts bestowed
Before the company departed."

And lovely form, too. That 'half-line' rhythm (e.g., "The halfling chose on top of Amon Hen
To leave alone./ And Sam went with him then") has a distinctly early medieval flavour. Intentional?

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: April 28th, 2009, 3:53 pm
by Stanley Anderson

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: April 28th, 2009, 4:21 pm
by galion
:lol:

Re: Literary Chimeras

PostPosted: April 28th, 2009, 4:53 pm
by Stanley Anderson