It's All An Allusion...

Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive
And carried through the blood by sweat and tears
New worlds in which only the strong survive
Obfuscated by congregating years

Those who waved the bloody shirt will tell you
The whole truth and nothing but so help them God
Versions are trailing clouds of glory through
the muck and they will face us, so applaud

The center cannot hold the whole together
It will always break apart on close review
And will taint unlucky souls forever
Those indicted by their own Waterloo

You thought at last you’d finally found your Eden
You thought you’d finally reached the promised land
You aren’t quite sure when you started bleeding
You don’t recall exactly now the plan

Seal your swollen lips and put aside your trust
Forbearance leaves ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

© Jennifer Hughes
August 24, 2008

So... for the literally inclined (that is, those relaxing in an EZ Boy with a book), you picked up on the literary allusions and the punny title.

For the aspiring-to-be-literally-inclined, more discussion is warranted:

An allusion is an indirect reference, particularly to literature.

An illusion is the state of being deceived, or something which intends to deceive or create improper perception. 

So, I am punning allusion with illusion:  the poem is about illusions, but made up of allusions!

For a look at the ten literary allusions I used, scroll on down...

Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive
And carried through the blood by sweat and tears
New worlds in which only the strong survive
Obfuscated by congregating years

Those who waved the bloody shirt will tell you
The whole truth and nothing but so help them God
Versions are trailing clouds of glory through
the muck and they will face us, so applaud 

The center cannot hold the whole together
It will always break apart on close review
And will taint unlucky souls forever
Those indicted by their own Waterloo

You thought you’d finally found your Eden
You thought you’d reached the promised land
You aren’t quite sure when you started bleeding
You don’t recall exactly now the plan  

Seal your swollen lips and put aside your trust
Forbearance leaves ashes to ashes, dust to dust

© Jennifer Hughes
August 24, 2008

"Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive" refers to the euphoria of being present at a revolutionary moment.  The quote is from William Wordsworth's autobiographical poem, "The Prelude."

"Blood, sweat and tears" refers to great effort through suffering, or a goal achieved at a considerable cost.  The phrase is taken from Winston Churchill's speech to the House of Commons after becoming prime minister, in which he said, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." 

"Wave the bloody shirt" means to use inflammatory rhetoric that exploits public prejudice and animosity.  The phrase is most often used in a political context.

"The whole truth and nothing but the truth" is taken from the oath for the swearing in of witnesses in the judicial system.  It has been in use since at least the 13th century. 
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/44/messages/562.html

"Trailing clouds of glory" is from William Wordsworth's poem, "Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood."

"The center cannot hold" is from "The Second Coming," by Irish poet William Butler Yeats.

"Waterloo" was, of course, the scene of Napoleon's final defeat. 

"Eden" is in Genesis (Latin, from Greek, from gignesthai: to be born), the first book of the Bible as the first home of Adam and Eve.  The word is used to suggest paradise; a peaceful and idyllic place.

"Promised land" is another biblical reference to the land of Canaan.  The phrase is used to indicate a place or condition of where all promises will be fulfulfilled and all hopes, realized. 

And finally (last things last), "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" is a phrase from the graveside rites for the burial of the dead from the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. 

Reference for all but "the whole truth and nothing but the truth" is Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions by Elizabeth Webber and Mike Feinsilber.

Reference for "the whole truth and nothing but the truth"... trust me, I'm a lawyer!  The 13th century note comes from Gary Martin's Phrase Finder, as noted. 

Lovers of linguistics,
persist and prevail!
Words which are winsome,
elegantly elocuted, 
exceptionally entail
the essence of equitable existence

Entities echoed extol
for a vernacular vocable
Limited locution
worn wearily as a whole. 

What I mean is…

People who love words
should keep on keeping on
Pretty words
Prettily said
especially impose
the substance of fair existence

Beings resonate praise
for a colloquial term
Limited phraseology
presents tiredly in its entirety. 

The parodic hue of the title is, of course, from the statement attributed to Patrick Henry.* 

I am just out of alliteration, and already resting relatively relaxingly on my assonance.  (Really, I cannot say I am out of alliteration, but into both alliteration and assonance in that last sentence.  Don’t diss my ass,** k?)  

Since I have been told that “assonance” is not a word, I will start by assuring you it is.  Further, I shall define it.  Assonance is a juxtaposition of similar vowel sounds (e.g., already resting relatively…).  It is sometimes used as an alternative to rhyme, or as Julie Walters said in the 1983 movie (from the award-winning play by British playwright Willy Russell) “Educating Rita,” it is “getting the rhyme wrong.” 

Dissonance can mean “failure to agree,” but also can mean “a blend of disagreeing sounds.”  Since assonance is agreeably sounding, and dissonance is not, I will hear neither or either, but never both. 

* “Give me liberty or give me death.” 
** Disrespect my… er, self. 

The youth in their words
demand to be heard
and the teacher, the student
wherever it’s prudent
will be taught by them slowly
and learn from them fully
then living by karma
they hear the alarm of
the people beneath them
and those who entreat them
for refuge, for mercy
to join in the heresy
of oppression of
the lesser
the ethics they tether
will police them
with keys that
will finally release them
but used up and bruised up
the question of who’s up
next to fight them
indict them and finally
requite them
the oppressed the oppressor
the greater the lesser
and oft changing places
they do it in stages
the story repeated
but all that we needed
were those souls who swore
when dissenting, lamenting,
but never repenting
that the world left depleted
was too unfair a burden
the resources spurting
and gushing incessant
they burn the transcendent 
till none left to offer
the gifts to be proffered
to the children who need them
who ultimately will lead them?

- Jennifer Hughes
© 2005

Spun Soliloquies 

“Literally”

This is the first of the new, yet-to-be-improved, subject-to-amendment-at-any-second section.  Now, I will be the first to admit that too much explanation downgrades the funny factor on jokes.  That said, I would like to explain all the humor in these books and explain to you in a five-step process why the joke is funny, and exactly how hearty your laughter should be after perceiving it.  Well, maybe not.  

But I will give you something to think about: Literally.  “Literally” is a word which has two opposite meanings: one of them “actually” and the other, “virtually.”  So if you are literally speaking… well, you might actually be talking, or virtually speaking.  Now, virtually as I mean it here means “nearly,” but it could also mean we are communicating virtually, i.e., through the computer (not the same thing as virtually communicating!).

I hope you will join me for a new post weekly (I mean a new missive, not a support column…. Oh, sure, I hope you find my words supportive and the format is a column, but not the wood or metal sort). 

Cheers!

Jennifer

February 2006 Breaking News

Childhood preference comes back to haunt Colorado Doctor – LAS VEGAS, NV 

 
A childhood preference came back to haunt a Colorado anesthesiologist, Jon Hughes, last Monday when it came to light in a public eulogy honoring the life of his grandfather, recently deceased, that the grandfather was his “favorite.” The crowd responded in shock and dismay to learn of the politically incorrect preference.
 
This discovery may jeopardize Dr. Hughes’ standing in the medical community. Spokespersons from the Colorado Board of Medical Examiners and the Colorado Hospital of Our Lady of the Panacea stated concurrently, “We can't afford to have Dr. Hughes preferring one patient over the other. A disturbing allegation arises by absolute conjecture from the implication of the recently acquired knowledge, and Dr. Hughes will not be allowed within ten feet of a patient until we have satisfactorily concluded our investigation.”
 
The NRA is fully backing Dr. Hughes' remarks, as they claim that the preference stemmed from his grandfather's extensive gun collection. Charlton Heston commented, "What child wouldn't love to run their fingers along the smooth exterior of the gun and imagine what he or she could kill with it someday?"
 
Hospital spokespersons stated that support from the NRA would "hurt, not help" Dr. Hughes' case, and that guns and medicine "just don't mix."
 
Said his older sister of the revelation, “That will teach him to run his mouth.”
 
Dr. Hughes, appropriately (for once), had no comment.

Years ago, I espoused the idea of an acronym kit, which would be marketed to facilitate “ease of communication.”   The acronym/initialization kit would consist of the most commonly used words of the English language, which would then be abruptly abbreviated down to use only the first letter.  So instead of saying, “How are you doing?” you would say, “HAYD?”  You’d save an entire syllable, which time and vocal effort could be budgeted in reserve and spent more effectively elsewhere.  The cost of the kit would be $49.99… no shipping charge, because I wouldn’t actually have to send you anything, since it would consist of the words you already knew. 

A small problem arises, however, when one considers the time involved in explaining what one meant if the acronym or initialization is not understood.  This could happen rather frequently, e.g., “WIMFB?” could mean “Where is my favorite blouse?” or alternatively, “What is Mrs. Farthingsworth bringing?”  Or yet, “What is my financial budget?”  In short, the kit may facilitate exactly the opposite and require people to say more words to communicate. 

BTW, it seems the texters figured a way to make it work (IMO, anyway). 

P.S. FYI, if you’re wondering what the difference is between an initialization and a true acronym, an acronym can be pronounced as a word (e.g., PETA) while an initialization cannot (e.g., ACLU). 

You’ve heard that contractions can be painful.  Well, they’re painful sometimes.  It’s not like we’re so lazy that we can’t use two words instead of one.  Perhaps it’s just failure to enunciate.  We were fine saying “let us…” and then somewhere around 1573, it simply became to burdensome—or we became too efficient (not mutually exclusive, it could be both, i.e., we became efficient and figured out a better way to say it because the old way was burdensome)—ergo “let’s.”  Many academic scholars don’t use them all in professional writing, though they’re generally acceptable in speech.

So, to keep contractions from afflictive status, please use them correctly. 

An apostrophe can be a sign of either the possessive case or be used to indicate the omission of letters (that’s why the apostrophe in a contraction goes where the verb would have been if it were two words).  An example of the former: “This is Jennifer’s book.”  An example of the latter: “Can’t, let’s, they’re, we’re, they’ll, shan’t…”

The fact that an apostrophe can be used for more than one purpose creates some confusion, especially with “it’s.”  “It’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” “Its” (with no apostrophe) is the possessive form of “it” (e.g., “The dog chased its own tail.”)  So although an apostrophe usually indicates the possessive sense, it’s the converse here! 

To see more uses of contractions as they arise with homophones, check back soon to read next week’s section: Are You Homophonic? 

Sum people, knot sew much, but eye no eye yam.  Eye re-caul sew many homophones which r used everyday.  What wood happen if ewe cud use m interchangeably?  It’s knot like people couldn’t understand what ewe were saying if ewe spelled it wrong.  (Or evn if yu misd sevrl letrs fr tht matr). 
 
A homophone is one of two or more words which are pronounced alike, but often spelled differently, and always different in meaning. 

A few commonly confused homophones:

 “They’re” means “they are”
 “There” means “at the place indicated”
 “Their” is possessive; it means it belongs to “him,” “her,” or “it.”

 “You’re” is a contraction which means “you are.” 
 “Your” is an adjective which means “relating to yourself,” often possessively (e.g., “The gift is yours” or “The mall is on your right.”) 

 “Who’s” is a contraction which means “who is.”
 “Whose” is an adjective which means “relating to whom” or sometimes “which,” often possessively (e.g., “Whose stuff was left on the porch?” or “The legislature, whose votes overrode the presidential veto by a two-thirds vote from each house.”)

 “To” is a preposition (function word) which often expresses “movement, direction, or destination.”
 “Too” means “also” (me too!) or “excessively" (too much!).
 “Two” means “more than one.” 
It is the first two that are often confused! 

Although not truly a homophone (because the vowels make different sounds), “than” and “then” are often erroneously inverted.  Though they are derivative of the same Middle English etymology, the distinction might have become clear around the 12th century. 

 “Then” means “at a certain time” or “in a certain case” (e.g., “If you cannot make it, then we will go to your office.”)
 “Than” can be used as a conjunction or a preposition.  As a conjunction, “than” is used comparatively (e.g., “More easily said than done.”) or to indicate a difference (e.g., “I’d rather be anywhere than here.”)   As a preposition, it is used only comparatively (e.g., “He is older than me.”)  

For an interesting discussion about usage of “than” as a preposition, look it up at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

The bottom line?  Remember “then” is temporal (relating to time); “than” is comparative.

Another pair of confused words—close in sound but not true homophones: “affect” and “effect.”

 “Affect” means “feign,” “frequent” or “tend towards.”  It is used as a verb unless it is appropriate for use as a noun, usually in psychological writing. 
 “Effect” is “achievement,” “consequence,” or “intention or purpose.”  If you look it up, most explanations which distinguish will tell you “effect” is primarily used as a noun.  In my experience, however, it is used just as often as a verb, where it means “to bring into being” or “perform” (e.g., “We need to effect change in the laws.”) 

For an interesting discussion that lends itself to explanation of the confusion, look up “effect” at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary and view the notes in “effect” as a transitive verb. 

The bottom line?  “Affect” is much narrower in meaning, if you are thinking about effecting a change in your vocabulary skills.

How about “lay” and “lie”?   The confusion is between the usage of verbs, so if you want to see “lay” as a noun or adjective, or how “lie” can be used as a noun, look it up at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

 “Lay” as a verb means “put down,” “place” or “wager.”  (e.g., “Lay your bets now!” or “Lay the book on the table.”)  The perfect past tense is “have (or has) laid” and the past tense is “laid.”
 “Lie” as a verb means “to recline” or “take lodging.”  The past tense of “lie” is “lay,” ergo the confusion.   The present participle is “lying.” (The present progressive: “is lying.”  The difference between a present participle and a present progressive: a present participle cannot stand alone as the main verb in a sentence; it requires a singular present indicative, such as the 3rd person form of “be”: “is.”)  The past participle is “lain.” 

Why isn’t “trepidatious” a word?  “Trepidation” means “apprehensive,” but in a tremulous way.  It is, in my opinion, a full grade above regular apprehension.  Therefore, what can you properly say when you are experiencing trepidation?  “I’m aspen” (people might think you’re a tree)… “I’m aguish” (experiencing fever or chills, shivering—are you sick, or just worried?)… “I’m aquake” (charades?  Ooh ooh!  I know what you are…)… “I’m shivering” (let me get you a coat)… “I’m anxious” (ok, not bad, but still a half-grade below experiencing trepidation)… “I’m fearful” (too broad—“fearful” encompasses too much). 

Let’s face it: “trepidatious” should be a word, because it is perhaps the only word which properly describes that feeling when you’re in limbo and you know a resolution is coming, but you feel the edgy sensation that it will not be favorable to you.  Then "compunctious" could have a synonym which doesn't suggest that you are responsible for your own plight!

UPDATE: One dictionary now has this as a word: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2009.  I posted this in 2008.  They are using my word! 

How do you get from “allude” to “prelude” to “ludicrous”?  They have the same root, “lud,” meaning “to play” or “game.” 

“Allude” is from the Latin alludere, literally, “to play with.”  It is a verb meaning “to make an indirect reference.”  An “allusion” is the noun form, usually referring to an indirect reference in literature.  For example, British author Andrew Marvell’s poem “To His Coy Mistress” contains the opening line, “Had we but world enough, and time…” which has become a popular allusion, borrowed by an ample range of interests from T.S. Elliot to Archibald MacLeish to Peter O’Toole’s character Michael James in Woody Allen’s movie “What’s New Pussycat?” while trying to seduce Liz Bien, poetically-inclined stripper. 

“Prelude” is from the Latin praeludere, meaning “to play beforehand.”  It refers to an introductory performance or musical selection. 

“Ludicrous” is from the Latin ludus, meaning “play” or “sport,” and means “amusing through apparent absurdity” or “ridiculous.” 

So if you have a ridiculous introduction, an absurd reference to literature, or an introduction containing an inference to another work, you have double play!