søndag den 23. juni 2013

Off the Nabocuff - 2

In answer to the question: what scenes one would have liked to have filmed -
Shakespeare in the part of the King's Ghost.
The beheading of Louis the Sixteenth, the drums drowning his speech on the scaffold.
Herman Melville a breakfast, feeding a sardine to his cat.
Poe's wedding, Lewis Carroll's picnics.
The russians leaving Alaska, delighted with the deal. Shot of a seal applauding.

My advice to a budding literary critic would be as follows. Learn to distinguish banality. Remember that mediocricity thrives on "ideas". Beware of the modish message. Ask yourself if the symbol that you have detected is not your own footprint. Ignore allegories. By all means place the "how" above the "what" but do not let it be confused with the "so what". Rely on the sudden erection of your small dorsal hairs (ryghår). Do not drag Freud in at this point. All the rest depend on personal talent.

 

2 kommentarer:

  1. Er det dit udsagn eller?
    " Ask yourself if the symbol that you have detected is not your own footprint" - pænt skarp formulering! :-)

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  2. Det er Nabokovs, men jeg skriver gerne under med symbolske kragetræer.

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