Deep dip depth death deaf dark
night, I dream had. Black brown furry buried monster me mom chase ising. Sudden
sorrow sad feeling me falls on. Unlike, on the other hand, on the other side,
or however, a golden glowing orange parrot carrot likes to eat. Bunch a lot I
carrot, which red rabbit ears and eye might like, hate! That shooting stupid
parrot my dream as well appears and a pear. Alas! Alarm! Aha! Finally, at last,
lastly, I wake up am able to. Oh dear! How dare! Black brown furry buried
monster with my dream erased wasn't! I monster seen saw see ising still!
Now bang boom I stepping sound
hear aming. Again, bang boom louder loudly suddenly slowly satisfying taste
buds. Now knock nock knock nock. KNOCK! I door toward shout, “What is it?!” I voice
like sharp swimming shark notice can. Mom me to shouts, “Honey… You will be
late for school! Hurry up!” I myself to talk. Why, flower flounder hiding sea
salt hurrying shore surface OR pale and peace. Bright bridge to calm
cloud. Yes, I there go want to.
Black brown furry buried monster my right and left or left or right ear to now
whisper ising, “I where there how know to get…”
Opening the door dropping a tear
at ear. I mom farewell well, “Mom! Bye!” In black shadow showing shown my,
black brown furry buried monster absorbed or absurd is in. Thought think thinking or thinking
think thought. I really want peace do? Or one piece dress do? Singing. Smiling.
Shaking. Shooting and shoot that bird! Bang. THAT bird me look ising. Know I
now. The Bird me is. I the bird is!
School cool cold. No faces,
facets, and friends. Yes stink sting string. Room big room people conversation
talk areing. Me ear dear dare hear, “dkshk dlrj rudn tkaqorwk qkRdp dks
skdhkTsssp alclsrj dkslsrk.. WkdldskwnrrpTdma” ???? !!!!
UP Up up or down dowN doWN dOWN DOWN. No! up uP UP! Stairs me
at stare areing. Dark turning
tunnel and terrace me tap ising. Welcome! Welcomed! One two three four five and
first second third and fourth and fifth! Close closer closest to calm clouds.
Bright bathing sun or sunset. Standing still sudden sound? No idea. But sharp
like sea shore “Riakakakakak!!!” I stop should? Maybe. Perhaps. No good. Yes
bad. I kNOW!
Black brown furry
buried monster me to whisper ising, “Fun! Funny! That Phonies!” Again, again, me to whisper ising, “I
how know! i how KNOW! i HOW know!” It short and sharp will be. Quick quicker
and quickest. Fast faster and fastest. That voice sweet sweeter sweetest is!
Suddenly quickly a
bird me above fly ishing. “Oh! I still the bird remember!” Bird but not a
parrot that carrot. Sky I ski want to in. Thump. Thumb. Jump. Jumbo. PEACE
peace PEACE peace!!! Alas! Indeed! Finally! Lastly! Exclamation marks! No more question
marks! Alas now down dowN doWN dOWN DOWN!!
Unlike the pieces we have read so far in class, these 500 words of knowledge largely ignore English syntax, but preserves the English lexicon with few exceptions. Some sentences convey a general meaning that we can guess as (e.g. “I mom farewell well, ‘Mom! Bye!’” could be interpreted as something like “I bid mom farewell …”), while most others are, for lack of a better word, nonsense that we cannot imagine being uttered in any context.
ReplyDeleteThere are also some interesting punctuation and capitalization choices (“???? !!!!”; “down down down dOWN DOWN”). A few others also experimented with punctuation and capitalization in their 500 words. I think the reason for this is that unlike speech, writing has established rules, and you must be taught to write, whereas you learn through exposure to speak. Therefore, breaking the rules of orthography is also breaking the sense and producing a work of nonsense.
I see very little resemblance between this text and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’s portrayal of nonsense (although the up up/ down down struggle does remind me of the growing and shrinking of Alice). However, there is word invention (e.g. “ising”), which was used in Carroll’s Jabberwocky as well as some of Lear’s limericks. Although we as English speakers know of the common “-ing” morpheme and some context is provided in that “ising” always follows a verb in this piece, I still do not know what to make of its meaning. This sort of nonsense where something can seem like it belongs but actually not is different from nonsense like “dkshk dlrj rudn …” which we recognize as “words” that cannot be produced in our language. Overall, I feel that this “500 words” entry uses a variety of tactics in an effort to cover all of the bases of what is / what could be considered nonsense.
I have to agree with Nicole’s comment before mine; this poem really ignores syntax from the English language. And yet, it’s just jumbled syntax. We can switch the words around and make a sort of sense form the narrative. I particularly enjoyed the introduction; the repetition of letters is a great alliteration and creates a rhythm that compliments the piece itself. It permeates the rest of the entry and gives the nonsense a place to roam free. It excuses the nonsensical gibberish and the sounds it creates. It is reminiscent of Jabberwocky, for example the line “snicker-snack” in the poem is really similar to the “Riakakakakak!!!”
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is a few moments of Alice and Wonderland essence, the line “That Phonies!” is the specific example I think of. It plays on the world phony and tweaks it, with the tense being applied to a group of people, phonies. Despite its strangeness is also tends to evoke a sense that was found in the recitations of Alice, not quite right. This to me is not as connected to Lear’s poetry, despite them both having clear points of action which tend to occur in the present. There is also a good amount of repetition, “ UP Up or down down down dOWN DOWN” which is a common factor in the nonsense we’ve seen. Otherwise, this piece of nonsense definitely has a solid amount in common with what we have read so far as well as a good amount of unique points of nonsense.
I found this piece of nonsense especially interesting. It is wonderfully complex, yet somehow I am able to follow the plot. In a way, the nonsense muddles but does not entirely obscure the piece’s meaning or intentions. The author uses plenty of adjectives, and includes an abundance of subjects and action words. What are missing, then, are the connectors that generally pull a sentence together. Where one might write “Suddenly, a sorrowful feeling falls upon me,” the author instead writes “sudden sorrow sad feeling me falls on.” The sentence’s meaning is not lost entirely, simply made a bit less evident. An author may use this style for many reasons. I can speculate that, if I had written this piece, I would hope for it to be read and re-read. A sentence with few connecting words, or one that contains a veritable word-salad demands careful reading, if not a full second read. It is possible that an author’s intention in writing something so difficult to manage could actually be to highlight its content all the more. As the reader is more-or-less forced to read the passage again, he or she may understand some greater meaning for which the text was intended. “Thought think thinking or thinking think thought.” It is clear that the author intends for this sentence to be confusing, sure, but it is also possible that she intends that we read it aloud, possibly several times to assure we’ve correctly understood its meaning.
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