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Mar. 14th, 2008 | 02:12 am
mood: discontent discontent
music: the verve

I know I should find something unique, creative, or even just helpful to say but it's hopeless I think...

I'm reminded at this moment of how useless language and words can be to convey what we truly want to say--this isn't to deny that great literature doesn't suceed in doing just this, think of just about any line or lines from any play of Shakespeare's.... but right now I think of Hamlet's last words, "the rest is silence"--the most eloquent wordsmith ever, perhaps, and at the end of the play and the end of his life his words--and words themselves--fail him as his life drains out--is that finally the real tragedy of Hamlet?--that despite all his words and the rhetoric he displays, his words, his language defeats him, even perhaps gets in the way of action, of living out his purpose to revenge his father's murder...it's a shame really, but it's a paradox we have to live with and in a sense live through--because we express our take on life mostly through words...the very medium we need and use the most to convey our wishes and feelings to each other is the one that's most prone to error, misinterpretation, and just plain imprecision and muddle-headedness....

I sound all emo about this I know, but then I am kind of emo, certainly very emotional!  It gets to me how hard I try to say the right thing when someone needs to hear it, and just how easily I fail most every time...I admit my take is of course very subjective and even egotistical because it looks like I'm dwelling on my feelings and not realising that sometimes my words do help, they do comfort the person they're directed to--and that, when it happens, is something to take comfort in--sometimes words do help, and even despite our efforts...I say all this knowing I tried to find the right words to reassure and I feel I failed, to me my words seemed empty and fatuous --but the hope remains that maybe I made a difference after all...and it's worth it if I can communicate more intimately with you...

I'm not giving up on language and I am compelled to write to get things out there--it's an elusive goal but I will persevere--don't give up

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Comments {7}

messyhearts

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from: [info]messyhearts
date: Mar. 14th, 2008 11:22 am (UTC)
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Language is a funny old thing. Someone else created it for us to express ourselves. I have lost count of the amount of times that there was a word missing for something I felt.

I feel a bit inspired at the moment. I have been studying MacDiarmid & though I don't like his reasons for doing so, I admire the fact he created a language that expressed he thoughts perfectly.

& for the record, I believe Hamlet's intellegence was his downfall. If he wasn't so eloquent, he may not have left it so late.

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klyte

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from: [info]klyte
date: Mar. 14th, 2008 01:57 pm (UTC)
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You put it so well, and much more concisely than I ever could :)

Looking at it again I wish it didn't sound so labored and intellectual (not to say pompous--gah)...and the title is ambiguous--it's from an Elastica tune, this line in particular:

No need to whine, boy, like a wind-up toy you stutter at my feet

I love MacDiarmid, that's so cool! What have you read? I like the way he and Joyce both used neologisms in their work...and Hugh with all those catalogues of scientific detail where he just gushes about the wonders of the natural world (thinking of some parts of In Memoriam James Joyce)...do you mean his communist/nationalist ideals for the language?

Yes--Hamlet wasted a lot of his action on talking...hmm, sounds familiar :p

Thanks, Sarah :)

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messyhearts

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from: [info]messyhearts
date: Mar. 14th, 2008 02:09 pm (UTC)
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Yeah, I am not a fan of nationalism. ;)

I've read Drunk Man... & In Memoriam. Not had time for much else.

No problem.

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klyte

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from: [info]klyte
date: Mar. 14th, 2008 03:45 pm (UTC)
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Yeah, old Hugh was one fierce Scot (wonder if Sean Connery likes his work? heh) God, yes--A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle...ever been to a Burns supper? Big party for Robbies b-day, haggis and all--a real bacchanalia! After much imbibing I was persuaded to read some of Drunk Man to the assembled devotees with my half-assed Scots accent on display :D Pretty bad altogether!

Nice chatting with you :)

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messyhearts

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from: [info]messyhearts
date: Mar. 14th, 2008 04:04 pm (UTC)
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My boyfriend keeps saying he is going to take me to a Burns night. He's as fiercely Scottish as Hugh (I suspect the whole "born a mile or two across the border" affects them all in this way..).

You too. Not many people I can chat to about Hamlet & Hugh. :D

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klyte

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from: [info]klyte
date: Mar. 14th, 2008 04:28 pm (UTC)
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I wish I could have met old Hugh--bet he was one lively talker! And to hear him read his stuff out loud must have been wonderful (though I should check--there's probably something on youtube or elsewhere)...

Yes you two should definitely go to one! Here my bro knows a couple who typically host one (in February as I recall) but they didn't do it this year--it's a whole lot of fun, we even had some get up and sing--even ol' klyte sang (sang, lol--I can't sing!) I read a few Edwin Muir poems too, including one that's rather critical of Burns--raised a few eyebrows!

Are you a big poetry reader? Have a look at Muir if you do--it's a little formal in style, but the substance is impressive!

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messyhearts

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from: [info]messyhearts
date: Mar. 14th, 2008 04:35 pm (UTC)
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I do appreciate poetry over prose. I do better when examined on it too. I will have a look into it, ta.

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