Next Meeting, Monday, January 9th, 2012

When we get together next, it will be an early winter's day and we'll be discussing A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

This play is one of Shakespeare's comedies, which you can probably tell from this picture in which a man with a donkey's head is "flying" next to Titania, the Fairy Queen.

The main plot of AMND revolves around the plight of four lovers whose emotions are toyed with by fairies and sprites, but there are also three subplots:

• the upcoming wedding of Theseus (the Duke of Athens) and Hippolyta (the Queen of the Amazons);
• an ongoing fight between the Fairy King (Oberon) and Queen (Titania); and
• an effort by the "rude mechanicals" (six common tradesmen) to produce a dramatic play which will be the featured entertainment at the wedding celebration.

There's a lot going on in this one, for sure, so if you have questions as you read, feel free to post them here on the blog so I and others can chime in -- either to comiserate or help with explanations. ;-)

Also, I know many of you will be reading from the No Fear Shakespeare version of the play. That's fine, but please -- don't allow yourself to skip the Shakespeare completely by only reading the modern translation. If you do, you'll miss out on Shakespeare's incredible ability to turn a phrase. His plots are good, but it's the way he says what he says that really sets him apart from other playwrights.

Consider for a moment, this simple line from Act II, scene i:

In the original version, Robin (aka Puck), greets a fairy with: "How now, spirit? Whither wander you?"

In the modern translation, this becomes: "Hello, spirit! Where are you going?"

Now try saying those two lines aloud.

They mean the same thing, but one of them is SO. MUCH. PRETTIER. Not to mention more fun to say. Really. Try it out on your parents. A cheerful, "How now, Mother? Whither wander you?" as your mom crosses the room will surely get her attention.

So yes, by all means use the modern translation to help you understand, but don't leave the original words behind altogether or you'll miss out on what makes Shakespeare, well . . . Shakespeare.

The Sick Lion - Updated Version

A Lion, unable from old age and infirmities to provide himself with food by force, resolved to
do so by artifice. He returned to his den, a stately castle, and, with much creaking and groaning lay down there, and pretended to be sick, taking care that his sickness should be publicly known.

With a great cry, elephant stewards trumpeted “the great king; the great lion lord, is ill.” The
beasts expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to his castle, whereupon the Lion suddenly rose and, amid cries of “Oh my god!” devoured them.

After many of the beasts had thus disappeared, the Fox discovered the trick. “Oh my god!” he said to himself “I must make preparations to rid the land of this abomination!” and presenting himself to the Lion, stood in the entry hall of the castle, at a respectful distance, and asked him how he was.

"I am very middling," replied the Lion, "but why do you stand without? Pray enter within to talk with me."

"No, thank you," said the Fox. "I notice that there are many prints of feet entering your cave, but I see no trace of any returning."

“My god”, breathed the lion. “He realized my deception. I must rid myself of him, before he warns the others” With a great roar, the lion suddenly rose to his paws. Feeling a great rage well up, he found the strength to charge the fox.

The fox was stunned. “My god! I can’t believe he could rise so suddenly! Still, this makes a more
sound finish to my task possible.” As the lion charged, the fox scampered out of the hall, and through the iron gates of the castle. As the lion, too enraged to see the trick and the danger rushed after him, the portcullis dropped, impaling him suddenly.

He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes of others.

The Tortoise and the Hare.

One sunny day, a hare was boasting to his friends of his great speed.

"I could run to the end of the world!" Said he. "I could beat anyone who dares challenge me."

"I challenge you!" Suddenly rose a voice from the dark bushes . A tortoise emerged, slowly stepping from the brush. The hare's eyes glinted angrily at the challenge, but instead of lashing out, a smile suddenly spread across his face.
" Dear friend." He murmured maliciously. "Why, of course i accept your challenge."

His friends cheered suddenly, and the sun slowly rolled behind a dark cloud...

The morning of the race was upon them. A storm had grown across the clear sky, and it threatened rain. When the location of the race had been decided, the hare and the tortoise were suddenly hunched at the starting line.

"Silly fool." Though the hare to himself. He suddenly imagined of how he would gloat. Suddenly, the cannon sounded, and they set off. The hare was out of sight in moments, and the tortoise merely plodded along. A look of grim determination was set on the tortoise's face. The rising sun began to melt the fog away, but dark clouds still dotted the sky.

The hare was many miles ahead, when he suddenly saw a crooked tree.

"What a good place to take a nap!" he said suddenly. "I will sleep for hours, and still beat that tortoise."

Suddenly hours had passed, and the tortoise was still making progress, though slowly. A thin layer of sweat lay across his face as he approached the tree where the hare was sleeping. Suddenly the tortoise could not help but chuckle.

Suddenly the hare was dreaming. He dreamed of himself charging across the finish line. He thought of looking down upon the stupid tortoise. Suddenly, his vision began to cloud, and a horrible feeling spread across him. He woke up, panting. He looked carefully around, but the tortoise was nowhere in sight. So, he leapt off gaily, humming to himself.

Suddenly the hare reached the finish line. He suddenly skidded across, and turned to wait for the tortoise, when a voice sounded suddenly behind him.

"Good game." The tortoise stood before him! How could it be! How could he have won! Red hot fury stormed in his mind as he watched his rival receive the trophy.

Suddenly the next day...

The Meadow Tribune. By Mahilda Suddenly.


Tortoise found murdered suddenly!  Reports say nothing was found of the killer besides traces of rabbit fur...



The end!!!! Bwahaha!!! That was pretty hilarious.... I wrote it normally at first and then added about a billion "Suddenlys"

So hope you enjoyed that!!!!

First post!!!

I decided i NEEDED to post ( So b-nice wasn't the only one posting. )

And also I was wondering how far every one is in the book...

(Sorry that post was so short. )

Next Meeting: Friday, November 11, 2:40-4:10pm

We're just plain getting weird this month.

Spooky book, different day, strange timing, and if that's not enough, we've got a full moon in there, too (the Beaver Moon on November 10th at 3:18pm EST).

Should be an interesting meeting . . . .

"I Vahnt to Sahck Your Blahhhd"

Hmmm. I was trying to spell that the way it sounds in my best Transylvanian accent, but I'm not sure I got it quite right. Anywho . . .

This is the edition I have,
published by Random House,
Modern Library, 2001.

Our next book is Dracula by Bram Stoker, which takes place in Translyvania, a county in the central part of the European country of Romania.

What always amazes me about this book is its modern feel. Though it was written over 100 years ago (first published in 1897), it's still a page-turner. One reason for this is probably Stoker's emphasis on the technology of the day. Granted, we're talking phonographs and typewriters here, but Stoker's use of gadgetry that was new at the time still seems to add a futuristic feel to this century-old novel.

Another thing that's interesting thing about this book is its narrative form. Instead of being told in the traditional 1st or 3rd person POV we're so used to, Dracula is an epistolary novel. An episto-what? Let me explain.

An epistle is a letter. An epistolary novel is one in which the plot is forwarded by letters written by one or more of the characters in the book. Dracula goes one step further. It is told entirely in the form of letters, diary entries, and newspaper clippings. Very cool, no? As you read, think about how this format affects the story. What does it add? What does it take away? 

Finally, another thing I enjoy about Dracula is that it's creepy. Scott, who is an avowed Poe fan, will love this. Others of you, perhaps not so much. If creepy isn't your thing, I encourage you to combat that feeling as you read by really analyzing the story. Whenever you start to feel scared, ask yourself, "What, exactly, is it that is creeping me out?" Try to figure out how Stoker creates  suspense, and consider this: though the novel is called Dracula, our title character doesn't spend a lot of time "on-screen." What effect does this have?

If you really THINK about the writing technique, I promise you it will help to allay your fears. Honestly. Nothing kills a spontaneous emotion or mood like in-depth analysis. Use it to your advantage.

Okay. That's all I'm going to say. I encourage new blog authors - 4 so far - to add impressions, Dracula factoids, questions, techniques for dealing with the fear factor, et cetera as they occur to you. Happy reading!

**We currently have a date/time conflict due to a climbing class at the Maine Rock Gym, but as soon as we figure out a date that works, I'll post it here. It will hopefully still be the same week (November 7th - 11th), either Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.**

Next Meeting: Monday, October 3rd, 1-2:30pm

In October, we'll be discussing short stories. At our September meeting everyone got a printed copy of The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. Here is a link to that story and the others we'll be discussing when we meet on the 3rd:

The Telltale Heart, by Edgar Allen Poe
The Three Hermits, by Leo Tolstoy
The Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant
The Open Window, by Saki
The Story of An Hour, by Kate Chopin
The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne


In preparation for our discussion, please read all six stories. Once you have done that, choose ONE story on which your will become a master. For that ONE story, take the time to plot out a story arc including the situation & generating circumstances (where things stand for characters at the beginning of the story and how they came to be that way), rising action (events leading up to the climax), the climax (high point of the story - what everything seems to build up to), falling action (events following the climax, leading to the end), and denouement (literally "untying the knot" - this is the final resolution or conclusion of the story - how it all works out.)

Feel free to be creative with your arc. As we noticed with our To Kill a Mockingbird arcs, a story arc needn't be an "arc" at all. In fact, here's a sample story arc of Cinderella drawn by Kurt Vonnegut.

And here's a simple story arc for The Three Little Pigs:

Exposition refers to the information the author gives you at the beginning of the story, i.e., the situation and generating circumstances. I might add a bit more here, such as, "Three pigs, brothers, are on their own for the first time and must set out to build their own houses." Then in the rising action, I'd be a bit more specific as well. "First pig builds straw house," followed by, "Second pig constructs house of sticks," etc.

So . . . a bit more specificity is good (isn't specificity a fun word to say?), and that can take the form of words or pictures to explain/illustrate the events. Be creative with it, have fun, and be ready to show your arc and explain why you chose to do it the way you did.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Our first book for 2011-2012, was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We met on September 19th to discuss it. At that meeting, everyone took a bit of time to plot out the story arc of the novel, adding the events that stood out most for them to a timeline of their own shape.

The timelines varied in format - some were arcs, some looked like mountain ranges with multiple peaks and valleys, and others made a steady climb toward the climax before dropping off at the end. It was interesting to hear which events had the most impact on readers, and at what points in the book people felt the most suspense or build-up.

Here's a section of mine.

I wish I'd had more time to improve the artwork - and to add a few more events. Much to Theo's horror, I completely omitted the mad dog incident. Oops.

In creating our "arcs," we discussed the following terms: generating circumstances, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement (or resolution). We'll talk more about these terms - and many others - as they relate to short stories at our next meeting.

Book List: 2010 - 2011

Our Literature Discussion Group began in the Fall of 2010. Between that time and the Summer of 2011, we read and discussed the following titles.

Animal Farm, George Orwell

The Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Ann Burns
Inherit the Wind, Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway