Otto, T.S. Eliot, and me

[c4bl3fl4m3]

Otto in the movie said, "But if you want to get a woman to fall in love with you, feed her poetry. Never fails."

I'm taking the good Doctor's advice. Yesterday, with asciilifeform and devvieish, I browsed the shelves of Second Story Books for poetry. My eyes fell on a book of T.S. Eliot. I smiled (they talk about Eliot in the movie) and opened the book up. It opened up

Comments

[scytheandroses]

ELIOT!!!! :D

Eliot + Otto = Post of good times, yo

Eliotttttttttt!

...please forgive the spazzing. <.< Would try to make some coherent remark, but brain is all dead and shit. But thankyeh for posting this, ehehehe.

[c4bl3fl4m3]

HEEEE!

[dark_pheonix]

:D I'm definately a lot more like Rosie than Otto. How 'bout you post a particularly puzzling part and I'll attempt to explain it :D

[c4bl3fl4m3]

It's ALL very puzzling. And it's not a short poem either. It's just... OUT THERE. And WEIRD.

And I'm no dolt when it comes to literature. I just think that T.S. Eliot is particularly hard.

BTW, if you want to read this poem, it's called Burnt Norton and it's part of a group of poems called Four Quartets.

[scytheandroses]

*needs to read the Quartets*

*highly recommends Prufrock and Waste Land*

*points out link to Waste Land in sidebar of journal*

<.<

*runs away*

[scandalmonger]

Second Story? I live near one of those...

[c4bl3fl4m3]

This one is in Washington DC. I don't think they're a chain. Perhaps it's a coincidence?

[scandalmonger]

Possibly...Hmm, interesting.

[dien]

Eliot geek here. *points at icon*

Don't feel bad about not 'getting it'. T.S. Eliot is generally considered to be one of the most difficult poets in the English language. I personally love his work-- do I understand it? Some of it. Sooome. Again, academians write fifty-page theses about what Eliot meant/intended/was communicating. There are people who make CAREERS out of analyzing his stuff

[c4bl3fl4m3]

Thank you for the reply!

And how you get a "final ability to reach and understanding and footing between people" out of that piece you posted above, I can only partially see. I do like that piece though.

Perhaps deep intellectual analysis of poetry isn't my thing. Perhaps I should just read and enjoy and think about it for myself instead of getting out of it what I'm "supposed" to get out of it.

BTW, your new nickname now is Rosie. ;)

[dien]

*grins* I'm sorry if that came off too intellectual analysis-- because I HATE intellectual analysis. I don't know how many poems and authors I've had ruined in my Literature courses so far. But yes, you should -definitely- read and enjoy and think about it for yourself. That's what I do. One of the things I love best about Eliot is that his use of words has such a LOVELY rhythm to it, I can just read it aloud and not be at all bothered by what I am and am not missing.

I see you've also found Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats! (Which the musical Cats was based loosely off of.) I'm ashamed I didn't think to rec that. Some of his more serious but more accessible stuff might be 'The Journey of the Magi,' or 'The Hippopotamus.'

Good luck with him! Again, you're very much Not Dumb. It's a big intellectualy undertaking to even attempt Eliot. :D I've been reading him for probably five years now and I'll get to a poem I've read fifty times and just NOW understand something that's in it.

[c4bl3fl4m3]

BTW, I've found some far easier stuff of his in this book of mine. It's silly and it has a fun to read out loud meter and it RHYMES! Like "The Naming of Cats".

Hooray for Jellylorum! (wow... I'm going way fangirl tonight!)

Also, thanks for telling me I'm not really dumb for not being able to get him. Another one of my friends outside the fandom said the same thing to me in my personal LJ.

[silversehkmet]

I've never understood poetry. O_o*

[c4bl3fl4m3]

Yes, but would you fall for someone who read it to you?

Come on... are you calling Otto a LIAR?!?! ;)