{"id":508,"date":"2016-01-25T18:33:15","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T17:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/?page_id=508"},"modified":"2017-07-13T13:10:46","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T11:10:46","slug":"the-art-of-phrasing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-understanding\/the-art-of-phrasing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Phrasing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>CONTENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">Part 1 ; The Art of Phrasing\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-understanding\/the-art-of-phrasing\/just-a-case-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0just a case history<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-understanding\/the-art-of-phrasing\/the-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the problem<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-understanding\/the-art-of-phrasing\/the-working-method\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the working method<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Part 2 ; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-making-sense\/\">The Art of Making Sense<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Part 3 ; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-understanding\/the-art-of-song-writing\/\">The Art of Song Writing<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Part 4 ; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-understanding\/the-art-of-reading-attentively\/\">The Art of Reading Attentively<\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">Due to a barrage of spam, the comment option had to be disabled.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">Serious replies will be copied to this page from the link below<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"mailto:playfulartofpoetry-comments@ziggo.nl\">enter a comment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"Apple-style-span\"><b>The Editor says the Poet is Nuts<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">or :<em>\u00a0<i>the art of phrasing<\/i>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 150px;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,<br \/>\nAnd Mourners to and fro<br \/>\nKept treading \u2013 treading \u2013 till it seemed<br \/>\nThat Sense was breaking through \u2013 \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 300px;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\"><i>Emily Dickinson<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><b>just a case history<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830 &#8211; 1886) came from a well respected family\u00a0from New England (USA). And her life is best described as going her own lonely\u00a0way. The last photo, for instance, for which she has posed with certainty,\u00a0portrays her close to her sixteenth birthday. About a year later she quitted school, and returned home for the remainder of her life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At home she developed over the years a strong preference for white\u00a0clothing, and an equally strong aversion for visitors. And for leaving her room.\u00a0As a result she was in her hometown considered \u2018excentric\u2019, to state it nicely.\u00a0Friendships she maintained, but mainly by pen. In this isolation she found her\u00a0strength as an artist. But it was also the reason why during her lifetime from\u00a0her output of some 1,800 poems only a couple of dozens went to press. In\u00a0majority even anonymous. While the few that made it to publication, compelled\u00a0the editors to adaptations to the prevailing literary conventions. And even\u00a0when it goes a little far to rewrite complete sections on rhyme, because that\u00a0was the thing to do in nineteenth century poetry, her punctuation was\u00a0corrected for the better.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The news of Emily Dickinson\u2019s clumsiness with punctuation marks may come\u00a0as a surprise. She is, after all, regarded as a gifted poet. For that reason\u00a0it might be a problem to support this proposition with evidence. Just our luck\u00a0then, that there is no need to bother about such niceties : it is in editor circles\u00a0common knowledge that the gift of poetry does not at all agree with a sense of\u00a0punctuation. Reason why it is apparently impossible to adapt a Shakespeare\u00a0sonnet, just to mention a name, to modern spelling, without putting in the\u00a0process the right mark into the right place. And what authority has a recluse\u00a0from Amherst on this subject in comparison with the Bard from Stratford ?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Published\u00a0in the\u00a0<i>Republican\u00a0<\/i>(1866) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<span class=\"Apple-style-span\">Submitted text\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Snake<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<span class=\"Apple-style-span\">(untitled)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">A narrow Fellow in the Grass \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A narrow Fellow in the Grass<br \/>\nOccasionally rides \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Occasionally rides \u2014<br \/>\nYou may have met Him \u2014 did you not, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0You may have met Him \u2014 did you not<br \/>\nHis notice sudden is. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0His notice sudden is \u2014<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>the problem<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Instead of expressing her gratitude for the assistance, Emily Dickinson wrote a\u00a0letter to the editor to complain that one of her verses had appeared in the\u00a0paper with a comma added to it that altered the meaning of the entire poem :<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cLest you meet my Snake and suppose I deceive it was robbed of me\u2014defeated\u00a0too of the third line by the punctuation. The third and fourth were one.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In case you fail to see her point, you are in good company. Even for Literature\u00a0Studies it seems to be a complete mystery what difference a tiny little\u00a0improvement makes. An expert like Dickinson-biographer Judith Farr, for\u00a0instance, regards the additional replacement of the fourth line\u2019s dash by a full\u00a0stop as a part of the same problem, and only notices some minor effects on\u00a0texture. That, at least, follows from the way she is quoted by Wikipedia :\u00a0&#8220;snakes instantly notice you&#8221; ; Dickinson&#8217;s version captures the &#8220;breathless\u00a0immediacy&#8221; of the encounter ; and The Republican&#8217;s punctuation renders &#8220;her\u00a0lines more commonplace&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apart from their specific value as scientific observations, Judith Farr\u2019s\u00a0comments make a perfect statement in general on the failure of Literature\u00a0Studies to explain even the simplest of poems aptly. Perfect because of JF\u2019s\u00a0exemplary demonstration of its blindness for vital clues on a silver plate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Because of this unfortunate eye condition, Literature Studies is apparently\u00a0still looking for researchers who read, independently from each other, exactly\u00a0the same in a work of literature. This, even more unfortunate, is in science the\u00a0obligate condition to regard any observation as reliable. Which implies that\u00a0Literature Studies has failed to develop a scientifically sound method of text\u00a0interpretation. The survey on developments in methods and research traditions\u00a0that is at this point supposed to follow, can therefore restrict itself to the\u00a0conclusion that the whole lot is best dropped into the nearest paper bin.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A rather extreme step. And for good measure Literature Studies has\u00a0converted want into virtue. And its literary criticism (text interpretation) into\u00a0a comparison of notes. It is in any case common practice to analise a given\u00a0work of literature by comparing the various interpretations from earlier\u00a0research, and to combine their most trustworthy looking elements into a new\u00a0framework. In order to understand, as interested lays, the effect of the\u00a0punctuation on Dickinson\u2019s poem, we therefore better make the attempt to\u00a0find things out for ourselves.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>the working method<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We\u2019ll start with translating the poem into a language of your own choice. Being\u00a0fluent in English you may be inclined to skip this first step, but that is exactly\u00a0what Judith Farr did by approaching this poem as a native speaker. Considering\u00a0the result, there is absolutely no harm in trying the basics first, and to rewrite\u00a0the poem into less poetic English at the very least. And don\u2019t expect me to do\u00a0the job for you, because explaining a poem is like explaining a joke : it is allowed,\u00a0provided one doesn\u2019t. But even when using the dictionary on every single word\u00a0(just my luck ; I randomly picked the Dutch one), these few lines are dealt with\u00a0in no time. No reason then to shrink back for the labour. Just take good care of\u00a0context, because a haphazard choice of synonyms is not going to be much of a\u00a0help :<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>(untitled)<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Apply this exercise on the remaining twenty lines as well, and this poem may\u00a0duly reveal itself, meaning and all. Just by the effort of reading it carefully.\u00a0Which, incidentally, is the name of the game in making sense of any text. If the\u00a0text makes sense to begin with, of course. Despite the lacking comma, this one\u00a0does. And you have in any case noticed that \u2018notice\u2019 is the only word that\u00a0causes some trouble (hence the mistake of JF). Picking one\u2019s choice from its\u00a0wide range of meanings triggers some pondering on the word\u2019s context, and a\u00a0change of punctuation makes a difference to that context. The punctuation\u00a0therefore makes a difference to the choice, which implies a difference of\u00a0meaning. If not for the entire poem, then at least for its opening stanza.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Putting this logic to the test, one better takes no chances with the context,\u00a0and provides for its poetry. Just my luck then, that, from all dictionaries, I had\u00a0to pick the one that is nobody\u2019s free random choice. But having exercised as\u00a0recommended, you will doubtlessly recognize the proper substitute for \u2018notice\u2019\u00a0better from the original poem, than I\u2019ll be ever able to rephrase it in the\u00a0language of my ancestors. The way Dickinson plays with rhyme, for instance,\u00a0stood no chance. No harm done to context, fortunately, but it would be a\u00a0shame not to notice :<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\"><b>De Slang<\/b><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <span class=\"Apple-style-span\">(zonder titel)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">Een smalle Makker in het Gras \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Een smalle Makker in het Gras<br \/>\nBij gelegenheid soms rijdt \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Bij gelegenheid soms rijdt \u2014<br \/>\nU trof Hem misschien \u2014 was het niet, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0U trof Hem misschien \u2014 was het niet<br \/>\nZijn &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230; plotsklaps is. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Zijn &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230; plotsklaps is \u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">The Grass divides as with a Comb \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Het Gras dat scheidt als met een Kam \u2014<br \/>\nA spotted shaft is seen \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Toont een gevlekte schacht\u00a0\u2014<br \/>\nAnd then it closes at your feet \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<span class=\"Apple-style-span\">En sluit zich dan weer aan uw voet<\/span><br \/>\nAnd opens further on \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0En opent verderop \u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The four lines of interest do readily call a snake to mind. And if a comparison\u00a0of punctuation fails to make you think otherwise, you are still on equal terms with\u00a0the leading experts. The sequel is, of course, not really designed to consider\u00a0another protagonist. Not with a copperhead to start suddenly away from your\u00a0feet. And to beat the experts at their own game, we\u2019ll have to resort to\u00a0another basic exercise in careful reading. One that my old school had labelled\u00a0\u2018text explanation\u2019. Those days it used to be a questionary, which included the\u00a0occasional give-away like \u2018who rides occasionally in the grass?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>answer : <span class=\"Apple-style-span\">&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One cannot pen down the unauthorized title, without giving the matter a second\u00a0thought. And this second thought alone, is reason enough to question the title\u2019s\u00a0authority. No matter how obvious the choice seems to be.\u00a0\u2018Question everything\u2019, is in science the basic state of mind. When Literature\u00a0Studies offers an explanation for Dickinson\u2019s choice of words that crushes\u00a0doubt\u2019s head, it therefore cannot be accepted with due grace :<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u2018Rides\u2019 sounds\u00a0like \u2018glides\u2019 and \u2018writhes\u2019 but gives the impression that the snake is being\u00a0carried, or that it is floating along. In addition, the word can also mean\u00a0torment, harass, or tease, and this definition fits the snake\u2019s reputation as a\u00a0sly tempter.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>author unknown<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Instead, we notice that \u2018occasionally\u2019 does not fit in with this\u00a0explanation ; snakes are not really known for changes of attitude. And with\u00a0that behavioral anomaly in mind, the opening line of that same anonymous explanation reads as a downright contradiction : \u201cIn the opening quatrain,\u00a0Dickinson cleverly disguises the subject of the poem, a snake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If Dickinson really did disguise the poem\u2019s subject in a clever way, rather than\u00a0transparently, she can be trusted to have disguised her subject AS a snake. And a poem that in\u00a0fact deals with a narrow fellow who occasionally crosses the meadow by horse,\u00a0leaves not much of a choice in likely candidates. You may therefore, instead of\u00a0the title, have written a certain name on the dotted line. In which case you have\u00a0declared the snake a metaphor. As a result, the inserted comma behind \u2018did\u00a0you not\u2019 at the instant alters the meaning of the entire poem. Which it does by\u00a0erasing the metaphor. Without this comma the couplet may prove itself a\u00a0nasty tongue twister, but at least one that places its seven final words against\u00a0the encounter : \u2018only if you have never met him, you\u2019ll notice suddenly that the\u00a0moment has come.\u2019 Not quite a remark that is often made about copperheads.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">He likes a Boggy Acre \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Hij blieft een Zompig Maailand<br \/>\nA Floor too cool for Corn \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Een Vloer te kil voor Graan \u2014<br \/>\nYet when a Boy, and Barefoot \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Maar als een Joch, en Blootsvoets \u2014<br \/>\nI more than once at Noon \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Zag \u2018k meer dan eens rond Twaalf\u00a0\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">Have passed, I thought, a Whip lash \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Op pad, dacht ik, een Zweepkoord<br \/>\nUnbraiding in the Sun \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ontvlechtend in de Zon<br \/>\nWhen stooping to secure it \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Dan bukkend om \u2018t te pakken<br \/>\nIt wrinkled and was gone \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Het plooide en was weg \u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The copperhead favours a pasture that humans tend to avoid if their footwear\u00a0is no good. Which evokes in the close encounter at the poem\u2019s centre a powerful\u00a0image of total surprise.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">Several of Nature&#8217;s People \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Van de Natuur zo menig Landvolk<br \/>\nI know, and they know me \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ken ik, en zij ook mij \u2014<br \/>\nI feel for them a transport \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ik voel voor hen een zondvloed<br \/>\nOf cordiality \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Van warme hart\u2019lijkheid \u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">But never met this Fellow, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Maar nimmer trof die Makker,<br \/>\nAttended, or alone \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Met oppas, of alleen<br \/>\nWithout a tighter breathing \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Zonder beklemde adem<br \/>\nAnd Zero at the Bone \u2014 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0En Noppes aan het Been \u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One explanation has the final line to express a sense of nakedness (of the leg =\u00a0barefoot) against the imminent danger (of a bite). An interpretation that is\u00a0fully covered by my translation\u2019s \u2018Been\u2019 (= leg ; = bone). But definitely not by\u00a0an English dictionary that is worth calling so. The anonymous scholar who\u00a0crushed doubt\u2019s head, on the other hand, is no man\u2019s fool :<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe final line\u00a0contains a brilliant metaphor, for the term \u2018Zero at the Bone\u2019 describes both\u00a0bone-chilling terror and absolute nothingness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is as good as an expert can get. But still, the \u2018metaphor\u2019 rather is a well\u00a0phrased riddle. By all means brilliant, but to appreciate the final line\u2019s quality in\u00a0full, it must be read in the light of the real metaphor. Then it will evoke an\u00a0image that can\u2019t be seen without having noticed this metaphor. And the\u00a0moment this image appears, you will have to admit that the added comma\u00a0alters the meaning of the entire poem.<\/p>\n<p>Which has to be demonstrated.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">&#8212;<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Go to part 2<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-making-sense\/\">The Art of Making Sense<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Due to a barrage of spam, the comment option had to be disabled.<\/p>\n<p>Serious replies will be copied to this page from the link below<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:playfulartofpoetry-comments@ziggo.nl\">enter a comment<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CONTENTS Part 1 ; The Art of Phrasing\u00a0 \u00a0just a case history the problem the working method Part 2 ; The Art of Making Sense Part 3 ; The Art of Song Writing Part 4 ; The Art of Reading &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/the-art-of-understanding\/the-art-of-phrasing\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":544,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/508"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1674,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/508\/revisions\/1674"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elizabethanpartsongs.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}