As I am sure most of my readers felt for themselves, we had a bit of an earthquake this evening. 5.0, apparently. My phone stopped sending text messages a few minutes later. Crowded server, perhaps? Nervous tourists? The rollicking earth interrupted our viewing of 'Whale Rider', one of my favorite movies, right when Paikea defies her grandfather by sitting in the front of the boys' chieftain class. It played while the cat cowered under the piano bench and we huddled in the hallway laughing at our own awkwardness. I confess, when the earth stopped moving, I glanced out the front window to be sure that the shore was still in place against the sea. Sorry, Australia. We're not neighbors yet.
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...
Wheeee Shaky shaky!
ReplyDeletearen't they kinda fun? i mean, if we lived in shanties and had monsoon seasons, they'd be terrifying and life-threatening and all. but we don't. and they're not. so it's like a game the earth gives us. wahoo. :)
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