because you were all wondering what I'm writing my dissertation on, here's a brief synopsis of my 'research context': When James Macpherson published his Fragments of Ancient Poetry in 1760, he went to great lengths to make the Fragments appear to be authentic remains of an ancient, heroic oral tradition. His reasons for this were largely political, and as such, influenced the content of the epics themselves. As an attempt to establish a particularly Scottish identity, the poems were quite effective. However, to do so required both a simplification and a manipulation of traditional mythology. Stripped of anagogical significance, the Ossian epics more or less represented an Enlightenment version of history, tradition, and mythic heritage. The stories themselves were changed by their very purpose and in turn changed the manner of representing myth in future narratives. Moreover, the emphasis on the Ossian epics as authentic tales from the past, as ‘fragments,’ served...
You leave in 10 days?
ReplyDeleteYou could play video games...
I don't have video games. And I wouldn't know how to play them if I did. I don't have that kind of coordination. You know, to remember which buttons do what. :)
ReplyDeleteGo to Paris!! Do you have enough money to do that? Could you do a Lake District tour? Fart around dead authors' old homes, etc.?
ReplyDeleteClimb Arthur's seat!
Climb the Scott memorial!
Climb the whatever else we were going to climb and didn't!
Come home early! No, wait... go to Paris. :-)
sadly, paris is not an option. the tickets are ridiculously expensive because i did not plan in advance. fool! ...(that wee outburst was for me)
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