Posts by Lucy Stewart
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Mmmmm... surplus ham.
It's not Christmas unless you're eating ham for the next fortnight because the person responsible for ham purchasing bought an enormous one in a moment of over-enthusiasm. At least, that's how it always worked in my family.
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Do I get a prize for that? Surely I do?!
You got enlightened as to what the perverts think, surely that counts?
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Our dairying/forestry/tourism economy might just die in a similar situation. Remember the year that Ruapehu got hardly any snow and the ski operators and lodges almost went under? Imagine it after six years.
That's highly unlikely on a country-wide scale. We're a maritime nation. It's always going to be raining somewhere. Which doesn't mean that we're not going to see changing weather patterns, but short of another Ice Age that sort of drought ain't happening here. (Australia, now...)
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Or someone could just link to the conversation about exactly this topic only weeks ago. Please.
Here you go. Sacha is perfectly right: we have *done* this one, and there's no great need to do it again in this thread.
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So, genuinely asking and not being snarky, how do you preserve the layers of meaning and pun in Shakespeare's language in modern English, where 'will' no longer means 'penis'? recordari's example is a great one, though not from a play: that sonnet is filthy, but only because of those Elizabethan double meanings. I can't see how it could be 'translated' without losing some of its meaning.
Internet Translation Issues here: I meant to say, I think that you can learn just as much about English by studying *other* texts, which are in language that's more accessible. Not "translating" Shakespeare, eugh. It's gorgeous, and brilliant, and I love it just as is. But as the main English written text (e.g. if done in sixth form) it can be a bit woah for some people, and then you lose them for seventh form when English is optional.
Some high schools could also benefit from learning that Shakespeare is not the only playwright in the English language - certainly at mine, you were left with that impression.
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forget the bullshit and the hype but read of 'song of waitaha' and make your own mind up. its a beautiful book.
Quite possibly. As an introduction to general Maori mythology, though, it's about as useful as the Da Vinci code is as an introduction to Catholicism.
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I'm inclined to think if they're susceptible to that, then dumbed down Shakespeare won't help.
I was thinking more "texts in modern English" rather than dumbed-down Shakespeare; plenty of my classmates were really put off by the language. It shouldn't be some sort of gateway to higher learning. But you also shouldn't be ignoring it because it's not obvious, so.
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Islander can you recommend a decent Maori mythology tome? In English...my Maori needs a lot of work.
The Reed Book of Maori Mythology is fairly classic, and the 2004 edition is well-organised by theme. The introduction does admit a number of problems with mashing-up of stories from different iwi, but they've tried to sort it out from the original sources as much as is possible. I think it's a good overview, but I have a feeling mileage may vary on this topic.
Whether the myth was originally based on fact or not is largely a moot point – the idea is very widely distributed both in Christchurch (where it is sometimes used ironically) and in the rest of NZ (where it tends to be used pejoratively).
I may have told this story here before, but it bears repeating: I saw this "myth" in action once when two women I knew found out they were both originally from Christchurch. The conversation lasted amicably until it emerged that one was from Fendalton and the other, New Brighton. That killed things dead.
Of course, this is pure anecdata, but it seems that the Christchurch-snobbery thing does get played out occasionally in fact as well as myth.
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Literature like Shakespeare expands your imagination, so it doesn't matter that they won't get every nuance, or that the content is 'adult' in theme.
There is, of course, the peril of putting some of them off - but I think quite a few get more out of it than you'd expect. My brother has announced he's doing seventh-form English because there's a Shakespeare section, and this is a kid who doesn't like school and barely reads anything that's not a comic book. Obviously something's connecting.
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Dicks aren't allowed to express their dickness? How else can the non-dicks know to avoid them?
Telepathy. Duh.