Wherefore, Ron? Wherefore?
January 3, 2002
7:24 a.m.
My thanks to both Greg and Caroline for taking the time to gently nudge me on my use of the Romeo... passage in yesterday's entry. As they both quite correctly pointed out, the word wherefore in "...wherefore art thou Romeo..." actually means "why" rather than "where," and so the area in question starts with Juliette asking why Romeo is a Montague rather than wondering where he is. Now, I could make a thousand excuses, about it being a long time since I actually read the prose and about having seen the movie and translated it in my mind wrong, but I'll not do that. I messed up. It happens. As I told the seventh graders at Brigid's school, I'm an engineer--not a literature major. My error actually serves to strengthen my point, though. Think about it. The rest of the passage already shows Juliette questioning why she should be upset at Romeo merely for his name and his family, so I lose nothing from my twisted interpretation. In fact, I seriously think interpreting the phrase in accordance with my slip of ignorance adds to the depth of the moment. I think it plays better if Juliette wonders where Romeo is at the start of that scene rather than pines for him to be someone else. She is smitten, after all, and it would only make sense that she would be interested in knowing what he was doing. I know I occasionally think about what Lisa is doing throughout the day. To have Juliette wonder where Romeo is would naturally lead to the rest of the passage, where she really gets down to brass tacks in questioning what the differences in their families means to her. If I were writing this scene, that's probably how I would structure it. (I know, I know. Who am I to take a blue pencil to Shakespeare?) Regardless, this error in reading the Words (or in this specific case hearing/translating them) did nothing to detract from my enjoyment of the story. Of course, if I interpreted the word "wherefore" as "tortilla" that would change everything. [grin]   Don't go overboard on me here. I'm walking a tenuous tightrope, and I would appreciate you not putting words in my mouth that suggest I have no appreciation for the value of prose. All I'm saying is that I don't pretend to be Shakespeare. I know a lot better than that. Shakespeare is Shakespeare because he is an 11 on both of Stephen Leigh's sliding 10 point scales for Words and Story. I'm not saying Words are unimportant. Words and word choice are the lifeblood of what makes this form an art. Words that sing are a glory to behold, and are of themselves worthy of attention. Story, in my mind, is more strongly attuned to craft. Story is more easily learned--prose is more related to the inner being of the author. Yes, I know you can help yourself by building a better vocabulary, and all that. Heck, I've already proven wherefore you should do that. But bringing the right collection of words up at the right time is a matter of some magic, and I defy any writer to give me an algorithm as to how it works, or what you should do to conjure that sorcery. I love both the artistry and the craft required to perform in the field. I have to love them both, don't you think? I'm a writer, for crying out loud. If I didn't, then I'm in the wrong place. But I'll admit that I focus on craft because that's what I think I can actively improve upon through hard work. I leave whatever art I may or may not possess as an exercise for critics to determine. This whole thing started as a discussion of "What is Writer's Block for $100, Alex." To which my answer was "The inability to create." Somebody suggested that the cause for this was intimidation, and a feeling of inadequacy as to their talent. And my response was that one's sense of reality should not expect one to be a member of the Great Elite. Perhaps you are, and perhaps you are not. But it is not a requirement to be one of the Great Elite. Simple prose will do in a pinch I know that even on moderately bad days I'm capable of writing simple prose, and simple prose is as fine a cure for Writer's Block as there is. Simple prose can get the juices flowing. Hence I have a hard time with understanding Writer's Block. That was my whole point. I spent considerable time playing with physics yesterday, but was rewarded with excellent progress on the book this morning. Now, I could say I did 1,500 words in about an hour and a half (just counting sitting down and writing this morning). But the truth of the matter is that I also spent probably a hour and a half or maybe two hours yesterday doing all the "research." I report, you decide. Okay, maybe I shouldn't go there. Have a great day.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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