Reading Notes: Dante's Inferno, Part B

· I could write about the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur, and have it continue telling of the minotaur’s descent into hell. That sounds horrid, though. I’m not sure I want to write anything about hell, actually, so perhaps this was a poor choice of reading.

· I want to know why Chiron had his head bowed to his chest. Could I write a backstory about that?

· I didn’t know the thing about Alexander and his troops encountering raining fire.

· It stands out to me that Capaneus is proud and spiteful even in death, so that I doubt he would accept paradise were he offered it.

· He talks about spirits purifying themselves by absolving their guilt with penance. What if there was a world where that was accurate, and you really had to be penitent enough to be absolved of guilt? What a horrifying thought. What if I wrote about that? Any mess up would have to be paid for, and there would be no grace.

· I love that thought: shame that makes the servant brave in the presence of a worthy master.

· I want to know why it’s called Malebolge.

· I could write about Jason. I feel like him abandoning Medea is well known, but I know next to nothing about Hypsipyle, and I could invent.

· Ouch Alessio was a contemporary of his? So, was he alive when Dante wrote this? Cause if so, that’s rough, man.

· Wow, I want to weep for evil.

· I don’t even really know how to talk about what stands out to me, because the things that stand out to me are not things I want to write about. Caiaphas stood out to me.

· Oooh it could be really cool to write about the last journey of Ulysses, and when they sailed through the strait of Hercules.

(Illustration by di Fruosino)

Bibliography:  Dante's Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, translated by Tony Kline.

Reading Notes: Dante's Inferno, Part A

· So is the narrator dead, or is there some other weird thing going on? It’s really interesting how he’s mixing Christian themes with Greek mythology. I like how Virgil described the paradise, “the origin and cause of all joy.” It’s compelling, isn’t it? Also, I wonder what or whom the she-wolf is meant to be.

· So he’s “a living spirit.” I wonder how he got there.

· I just realized how depressing this is going to be. It’s interesting that those in the in-between are said to have lived without blame (in addition to being without praise), but they are clearly guilty and treated as such.

· The language is intense: “the weeping earth gave vent”

· This misunderstanding of guilt, innocence, and justice makes me sad.

· It seems to me that an eternity of hopelessness and nothing would be hell enough, even if there was no explicit torment.

· That’s so backwards. They have heaven’s grace because they were famous in life? Uhh, no.

· I wonder which famous people of our age would have been chosen for this favored section of Hell? Perhaps it would surprise us. It seems to me that history picks different heroes than those we exalt in the moment, and that sometimes great evil is overlooked when it is far removed from the present.

· Why are some sins considered worse than others? How would it be if it was flipped, and I was to write of a Hell where cold indifference to God was the worst crime of all?

· Wow, it’s strange how polite all of the people in Hell are. I wouldn’t be gracious for very long in there.

· The place with angry men sounds horrible.

· I could write about the conversation between Virgil and the fallen angels, when he tries to get them to let Dante enter deeper into hell.

· Wow, that would be scary. “If you see her, you’re stuck in this deep pit of Hell.”

(Illustration by William Blake)

Bibliography:  Dante's Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, translated by Tony Kline.

Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Crane), Part B

· Hmmm this story starts off so sad:(. What if the king had refused the old woman? What if his wife wasn’t dead? Also, how on earth did he conceal from his wife that he had children? That can’t exactly have been a secret beforehand? What if I tweaked this story so that she turned them into a different type of animal?

· I fell like there are rather a lot of tales that involve evil stepmothers turning some or all of their stepchildren into swans.

· How do they already know how the swan curse works when they’ve been under it for like a day?

· I hate that she gets absolutely no say in marrying the king. Also, why can’t she write to people? Isn’t that an easy way to communicate without breaking the deal?

· Wow, it’s really gross that she smeared blood on her mouth.

· I don’t understand why she didn’t somehow mess things up when she cried out in excitement when she saw her brothers flying towards her when she was about to be killed. What if that had ruined everything? I could write about that.

· Although I suppose that if crying out was against the rules, giving birth would have been particularly difficult.

· I enjoy the fact that this was written with some rhyming. That would be a fun thing to incorporate.

· I feel bad for the beggar man. What if he didn’t want to marry her? She doesn’t seem like a pleasant person to be married to.

· Wait why on earth did he still want to marry her? Literally her only good quality was that she was beautiful. I’m annoyed. What if I changed this story so that she learned her lesson, and then lived happily ever after as a beggar, content? She still didn’t seem content, even if she was humbled.

· Why would he say that she would never again touch a spinning wheel if one of the things that he liked about her was her industry?

(Illustration by Walter Crane)

Bibliography:  Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm, by Lucy and Walter Crane

Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Crane), Part A

· So I feel like the main theme so far in The Fisherman and His Wife has had to do with the idea of someone convincing someone else to do something that they really ought not to. For some reason, a detail that really stood out to me was the fact that the fish bled, and that the sea turned a different color. That may be significant enough that I can use it in some way.

· The other theme is the consuming nature of greed. It’s never satisfied; it wants a little more, and a little more, and a little more. That’s something I could easily use in a story about a small child (or anyone I suppose).

· I don’t yet know how this story will end, but it all seems so foreboding that perhaps I could have the man wake up at some point and discover that it was only a bad dream, then he goes and catches fish and none of them talk and he is relieved.

· Great quote: “she was as far as ever form being contented.”

· So it ends with them being in the exact same position, except that she is less content than ever (I assume).

· I like that the story starts off with giving her mother personality.

· Why lentils in ashes? Like, why is that a theme?

· I like the fact that this is like one of the original heroine singing to small animals for help tales.

· Wow, the prince is a tad creepy. What if she didn’t want quite such undivided attention? Maybe I could rewrite this so she gets kind of annoyed and freaked out.

· Also, I’m super annoyed that the prince didn’t recognize her when she put her rags back on. Maybe if she had been wearing a mask or something…

· Eww I wouldn’t ever want to touch that shoe again.

· Wait so does the father not really love Aschenputtel in this (the original) version?

· Wow, man. These stories are vindictive.

(Illustration by Walter Crane)

Bibliography:  Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm, by Lucy and Walter Crane.

Reading Notes: King Arthur, Part B

· Wow, a lot happens in this first bit of story. So, Galahad is the only man who can bear the special shield, he expels the fiend from the graveyard, he knights the squire but the squire is eventually wounded, he frees the maidens, and he fights Lancelot and Percivale. I think that it stands out to me that people are saying that he’s the only one worthy of various honors, and that he’s the best knight in the world. It seems like it could lead to some tension amongst the knights of the table.

· Lancelot is Galahad’s father?!?

· I’m confused. If the Knight that Lancelot saw in his dreams was so righteous, why did he steal from Lancelot? That’s not cool. I could write about him getting in trouble for that eventually . . .

· The poor yeomanL. Now his hackney is gone too. I could write about his perspective, but it would be sad and not well resolved, and he might die in the end. Percivale didn’t really help at all, and then he was gone.

· I could take the tale of Sir Lancelot being beaten in battle when he takes the side of the black knights against the white ones, but change it to another situation where someone is usually the champion at something, but is bested because of their wrongdoing.

· Once again, I could write about someone who is foiled in their pursuit of something they want because of their own wrongdoing.

· So how long has Sir Bors gone without eating? Did I misunderstand that? And, I could write a tale about how he and his brother came to be in danger of unknowingly slaying one another.

· I want to know more about how and why Sir Percivale’s sister died! I suppose I could write that story.

(Sir Mordred, by H. J. Ford)

Bibliography:  King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table, by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: King Arthur, Part A

· I love that Arthur didn’t know the significance of what he was doing. I also don’t particularly trust Kay, and am not sure how I feel about him having a high position within Arthur’s court. I could write about how Ector and his wife reacted and how odd it was when Merlin brought them Arthur. I could tell the tale of that night, almost like the opening chapter of Harry Potter.

· Wow, that is a super ominous prophecy thing. The hero is going to go about already knowing the source of his own defeat, and that things will eventually go poorly with him.

· It’s strange that it isn’t shameful for Arthur to be rescued in battle by Merlin, while Merlin casts his opponent into deep sleep. It simply isn’t what I would have expected.

· So the sword in the stone wasn’t Excalibur?

· Wow Arthur liked Guenevere because she’s beautiful but not necessarily good and Merlin says as much but then is like “Oh well. You like her, so it’s not to be helped and you have to marry her.” That’s so foolish.

· Haha I could write a satire where there are 150 knights at the round table (which is how many it fits) and they try to have conversations but can’t hear each other, because come one. One circular table seating 150 people is a bad idea acoustically.

· This isn’t an original idea (I know C. S. Lewis did it, and maybe Ursula LeGuin or whatever her name is), but I could write about someone finding Merlin. It seems as though he wouldn’t die, but merely go on, buried.

· Wow, maybe it’s the music I’m listening to, but the story of the dream of the young man who was to accompany Arthur was very eerie. I kind of like all the creepy imagery, with the church in the graveyard.

(The Drawing of the Sword, by H. J. Ford)

Bibliography:  King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table, by Andrew Lang

Reading Notes: Welsh Fairy Tales, Part B

· I like that the title of that tale was “Owen goes a-wooing” when that’s actually a very little part of the story. I think this story was cute, and I liked his loyalty, but I’m not sure how to do much with it.

· I don’t understand what’s wrong with getting money from fairies. Are they like demons, basically? Maybe I could write some sort of backstory as to why one ought not to take money from fairies. Also, why do they stop coming when the wife knows? Once again, could there be a back story in that?

· I like that leprechauns (or whatever they are. Fairies?) are willing to accept apologies and move on. I would like that to be a thing in my stories. Vindictive characters are no fun.

· Nooooo you can’t just grab her and not let her go!

· Hmmm I think that there seems often to be a theme of happiness and love disturbed by silly or arbitrary rules. He accidentally tossed some dirt at her, so their happy marriage had to end. Like, that’s so sad.

· Wow, I really don’t like stories that have to do with the devil or witchcraft, and I certainly won’t be writing one.

· I really like that this story involved someone coming across a beautiful maiden in the woods without being enchanted by her or wanting to marry her, but rather simply with blessing her. Maybe I should write a story about something like that.

· I could write this from the perspective of one of the women being fought over. How horrible…

· I do like stories that are basically overcoming monsters, pure and simple. I could write something rather similar to the story of Hu Gadarn, where basically they capture and chain a huge, dangerous beast.

· Ahhh I’m sad for the little dog :(

(Why Deunant has the Front Door in the Back, by Willy Pogány)

Bibliography:  The Welsh Fairy Book, by W. Jenkyn Thomas

Reading Notes: Welsh Fairy Tales, Part A

· Wow! I really liked that. Perhaps I could write a tale wherein it really is time for Arthur and his warriors to come back, and destroy the enemies of the Cymry. I suppose that if I were to do that, I would need to read all the Arthur stories so I would have a solid base from which to start.

· “You must find a child born without a father, put him to death, and sprinkle with his blood the ground . . .”. It sounds like a Christ figure.

· Woah it was Merlin!! This also reminded me of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. I really like the element of justice, when the youth is spared and the guilty magicians are the ones who end up being killed (although the king is rather guilty too). I could write some about the lesser-known Arthur stories, where all kinds of cool things end up pulling everything together.

· Are you serious? “I’ll follow you, oh beautiful woman, to the ends of the earth, but first let me say goodbye to my wife.”

· Does Angharad want an explanation or anything?

· Wow, he was gone for a long time.

· I’m glad this story ended happily.

· I’m glad that the barber isn’t punished in this one. Also, I feel like one of the main ideas of this tale is that if a secret is let out, it spreads. I could write a tale with that theme. It could be turned into a warning against either vanity or gossip, or both.

· Folk tales feel so random sometimes. I don’t think I want to use the one with the cow.

· I kind of like how much of this is left a mystery. We know that the harper was saved, but not really how the devastation came about, or why he was spared, or if anyone else got away.

· “to return to the lowlands with his woolly charge.” I love that.

(Einion and the Lady of the Greenwood, by Willy Pogány)

Bibliography:  The Welsh Fairy Book, by W. Jenkyn Thomas.