A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1959)

Here is my summary of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1959) directed by Jiri Trnka:

Dawn breaks. Lysander courts Hermia (dark-haired). Demetrius arrives to visit Hermia. Lysander and Demetrius fight over Hermia. Lysander uses his flute instead of a sword. Theseus orders Hermia to marry Demetrius. Athens prepares to celebrate the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Hermia and Lysander run away to the forest. Demetrius follows them and Helena (light-haired) follows Demetrius.

The artisans rehearse Pyramus and Thisbe. They are disturbed by other rehearsals and leave town in order to rehearse in peace in the forest. Oberon tries to make love to Titania but she refuses. Oberon sends Puck to fetch a magic flower. The flower grows out of a broken column. It has power over snails, statues and sheep.

Oberon watches the artisans arrive in the wood, then Lysander and Hermia, then Demetrius and Helena. Puck mistakenly puts a spell on Lysander (instead of Demetrius). Titania sleeps. Oberon frightens away her attendants. Puck separates Bottom from the other artisans and casts a spell to give him the head of a donkey. Oberon puts a spell on Titania. Titania falls in love with Bottom. Titania’s attendants pamper Bottom.

Puck puts a spell on Demetrius so that he loves Helena. Demetrius and Lysander fight. Puck prevents them from hurting each other. Puck tires out the four lovers until they unknowingly fall asleep side by side. Puck gives Lysander the antidote. Oberon gives Titania the antidote. Titania falls into Oberon’s arms. Dawn breaks. Oberson, Titania and their attendants retreat. Oberon reminds Puck to take the donkey’s head off Bottom.

Thesues and Hippolyta, out hunting, stumble on the sleeping lovers. Hermia’s father spares Lysander. The wedding celebrations start. (There are now three weddings to celebrate not one.) The artisans perform Pyramus and Thisbe, which is poor until Puck transforms it into something magical. Oberon orders Puck to stop meddling. Puck puts all the mortals to sleep. Oberon and Titania and their attendants drink a toast to the three couples.

Victory: an Island Tale

Here are a few notes on Joseph Conrad’s novel Victory, which I have just finished reading.

When Heyst meets Lena it is her voice that captivates him:

“But her voice! It seduced Heyst by its amazing quality. It was a voice fit to utter the most exquisite things, a voice which would have made silly chatter supportable and the roughest talk fascinating. Heyst drank in its charm as one listens to the tone of some instrument without heeding the tune.” (Part 2, chapter 1)

I confess that Conrad’s exceptional writing style has much the effect on me as Lena’s voice on Heyst. Heyst is a very limited character but Conrad keeps me interested in him. Once Jones, Ricardo, and Pedro arrive on Samburan the novel descends into melodrama but Conrad (mostly) keeps me interested anyway.

The key chapters are perhaps Part 3 chapters 1 to 5, which cover Heyst’s and Lena’s relationship on Samburan before the arrival of the Threat from Outside (that is, Jones, Ricardo, and Pedro). Heyst is still repeating his father’s ideas, the ideas he has lived by for so many years:

“I only know that he who forms a tie is lost. The germ of corruption has entered into his soul.” (Part 3, chapter 3)

He doesn’t entirely realise that he has (partially) abandoned his father’s ideas:

“The girl he had come across, of whom he had possessed himself, to whose presence he was not yet accustomed, with whom he did not yet know how to live; that human being so near and still so strange, gave him a greater sense of his own reality than he had ever known in all his life.” (Part 3, chapter 3)

Heyst doesn’t entirely understand Lena, and Lena doesn’t entirely understand Heyst. She thinks of him as “a strange being without needs”, whereas in fact she is essential to him, he needs her. In the melodramatic climax to the novel Heyst and Lena, without checking with the other, decide on a plan to safeguard the other: Heyst orders Lena to flee while he distracts the villains and Lena decides that Heyst will be saved if she can somehow gain possession of the villains’ knife. Heyst acts to save Lena but he will not act if it is just himself who is in danger.

Jones, Ricardo, and Pedro are creatures of melodrama. They are instantly recognisable each time they reappear, Conrad’s descriptions of them are, by his high standards, (mostly) lazy and repetitive, they have little or no inner life. (However, Ricardo has more inner life than the other two.)

Shady Subjects

Certain subjects, such as the playing of encrypted dvds on a computer, the locking of mobile phones, and (in the UK) the activities of TV license inspectors, seem to be shady, that is, they seem disreputable and it is difficult to gather precise information about them.

I want to provide a snippet of precise information about the locking of mobile phones (locking them so that they only work on one network). If a network sells you a cheap phone I think it is reasonable for them to lock the phone to their network until they have recouped the cost of the phone, and made some profit on top. However, I think that once the cost of the phone is recouped it should be straightforward, and free, for the owner to get the phone unlocked.

If you buy a second-hand mobile phone and find it is locked (locked to the wrong network) what do you do? One possibility is to take it to one of the independent phone shops, who for a fee will unlock it. I believe that virtually any mobile phone that has been on sale for a year or two can be unlocked (regardless of the network).

Le Chevalier au Lion

Yvain or “Le Chevalier au Lion” (The Knight of the Lion) is a romance written about 1175 by Chrestien de Troyes (of whom almost nothing is known). I give some extracts below. These extracts are passages that I find interesting and that I can understand fairly easily.

After a fierce fight Yvain splits Esclados ‘s skull. Esclados is fatally injured but Yvain pursues him without mercy:

En la fin, son hiaume escartele
Au chevalier messire Yvains.
Del cop fu estonez et vains
Li chevaliers; mout s’ esmaia,
Qu’ ainz si felon cop n’ essaia,
Qu’ il li ot desoz le chapel
Le chief fandu jusqu’ au cervel,
Tant que del cervel et del sanc
Taint la maille del hauberc blanc,
Don si tres grant dolor santi
Qu’ a po li cuers ne li manti.
S’ il s’ an foï, n’ a mie tort,
Qu’ il se santi navrez a mort;
Car riens ne li valut desfansse.
Si tost s’ an fuit, com il s’ apansse,
Vers son chastel, toz esleissiez,
Et li ponz li fu abeissiez
Et la porte overte a bandon;
Et messire Yvains de randon
Quanqu’ il puet aprés esperone.
Si con girfauz grue randone,
Qui de loing muet et tant l’ aproche
Qu’ il la cuide panre et n’ i toche,
Ensi cil fuit, et cil le chace
Si pres qu’ a po qu’ il ne l’ anbrace,
Et si ne le par puet ataindre;
Et s’ est si pres que il l’ ot plaindre
De la destrece que il sant.

Esclados dies of his wound. His followers are enraged and bewildered when they cannot catch Yvain (who is invisible):

Et disoient: « Ce, que puet estre?
Que ceanz n’ a huis ne fenestre
Par ou riens nule s’ an alast,
Se ce n’ ert oisiax qui volast
Ou escuriax ou cisemus
Ou beste ausi petite ou plus,
Que les fenestres sont ferrees,
Et les portes furent fermees
Lors que mes sire en issi fors;
Morz ou vis est ceanz li cors,
Que defors ne remest il mie.
La sele assez plus que demie
Est ça dedanz, ce veons bien,
Ne de lui ne trovomes rien
Fors que les esperons tranchiez
Qui li cheïrent de ses piez.
Or au cerchier par toz ces engles,
Si lessomes ester ces gengles,
Qu’ ancor est il ceanz, ce cuit,
Ou nos somes anchanté tuit,
Ou tolu le nos ont maufé. »

Laudine, Esclados’s widow, is overcome by grief. Her attendant Lunete urges her to set aside her grief and find a new champion to defend her defenceless kingdom:

« Si feroiz, dame, s’ il vos siet.
Mes or dites, si ne vos griet,
Vostre terre, qui desfandra
Quant li rois Artus i vendra,
Qui doit venir l’ autre semainne
Au perron et a la fontainne?
N’ en avez vos eü message
De la dameisele sauvage
Qui letres vos en anvea?
Ahi! con bien les anplea!
Vos deüssiez or consoil prendre
De vostre fontainne desfandre,
Et vos ne finez de plorer!
N’ i eüssiez que demorer,
S’ il vos pleüst, ma dame chiere,
Que certes une chanberiere
Ne valent tuit, bien le savez,
Li chevalier que vos avez:
Ja par celui qui mialz se prise
N’ en iert escuz ne lance prise.
De gent malveise avez vos mout,
Mes ja n’ i avra si estout
Qui sor cheval monter en ost,
Et li rois vient a si grant ost
Qu’ il seisira tot sanz desfansse. »

Laudine marries Yvain and his adventures continue …

Acme Novelty Library (hardcover)

The full title of the book is “The Acme Novelty Library Final Report to Shareholders and Rainy Day Saturday Afternoon Fun Book”. This is the large (9.5″ x 15.5″) hardcover book by Chris Ware, published in 2005, with 108 numbered pages (and a few extra unnumbered ones). The book contains comic strips about many characters, including Rusty Brown, Chalky White, Big Tex, Quimby Mouse, an unnamed superman, Jimmy Corrigan, and others. There are also project pages (telling you how to build a variety of paper models) and many pages of spoof adverts.

I’m fascinated by Ware’s visual inventiveness and energy. For example, there are two strips, in tiny panels, on the edges of the cover. On pages 10 and 11 he gives the board for an elaborate game (the game of life?). The project pages for creating the “Miniature Working Acme Novelty Library” include tiny books, which (of course) are about Jimmy Corrigan, Quimby Mouse, etc.

Many of the characters are male, middle-aged, lonely and frustrated. Quimby Mouse himself is tired, no longer young and in love. I don’t understand why Chris Ware spends so much time exploring such characters, after all there isn’t much character to explore. Chalky White starts as Rusty Brown’s stooge but he develops more character. The strips I was most moved by (well, more moved by) are those, near the end of the book, dealing with Chalky and his teenage daughter Brittany. I’d like to see more of Brittany as she grows up.

Piers Plowman

Piers Plowman is a Middle English allegorical narrative poem (written apparently by a William Langland). There seem to be three versions of the poem: A, B, and C. My quotes are from the B text. Parts of the poem are very lively. I give some extracts below. The full text of one version of the B text is available here.

Meed, a beautiful richly-dressed woman, speaks in favour of mede (reward, pay, bribery):

“It bicometh to a kyng that kepeth a reaume
To yeve men mede that mekely hym serveth –
To aliens and to alle men, to honouren hem with yiftes;
Mede maketh hym biloved and for a man holden.
Emperours and erles and alle manere lordes
Thorugh yiftes han yonge men to yerne and to ryde.
The Pope and alle prelates presents underfongen
And medeth men hemselven to mayntene hir lawes,
Servaunts for hire servyce, we seeth wel the sothe,
Taken mede of hir maistres, as thei mowe acorde.
Beggeres for hir biddynge bidden men mede.
Mynstrales for hir myrthe mede thei aske.
The Kyng hath mede of his men to make pees in londe.
Men that kenne clerkes craven of hem mede.
Preestes that prechen the peple to goode
Asken mede and massepens and hire mete also.
Alle kyn crafty men craven mede for hir prentices.
Marchaundise and mede mote nede go togideres:
No wight, es I wene, withouten Mede may libbe!”

Gluttony is on his way to church to be shriven but he stops off at the public house for a quick drink of spiced ale:

Now bigynneth Gloton for togoto shrifte,
And kaireth hym to kirkewarde his coupe to shewe.
Ac Beton the Brewestere bad hym good morwe
And asked of hym with that, whiderward he wolde.
“To holy chirche,” quod he, “for to here masse,
And sithen I wole be shryven, and synne na moore.”
” I have good ale, gossib,” quod she, ” Gloton, woltow assaye?”
” Hastow,” quod he, “any hote spices?”
“I have pepir and pione,” quod she, “and a pound of garleek,
A ferthyngworth of fenel seed for fastynge dayes.”
Thanne goth Gloton in, and grete othes after.

When Wastour refuses to work in return for food Piers sets Hunger on Wastour and his companion:

“I was noght wont to werche,” quod Wastour, “and now wol I noght bigynne!”
And leet light of the lawe, and lasse of the knyghte,
And sette Piers at a pese, and his plowgh bothe,
And manaced Piers and his men if thei mette eftsoone.
“Now, by the peril of my soule!” quod Piers, “I shal apeire yow alle!”
And houped after Hunger, that herde hym at the firste.
“Awreke me of thise wastours,” quod he, “that this world shendeth!”
Hunger in haste thoo hente Wastour by the mawe,
And wrong hym so by the wombe that al watrede hise eighen.
He buffetted the Bretoner aboute the chekes
That he loked lik a lanterne al his lif after.
He bette hem so bothe, he brast ner hire guttes;
Ne hadde Piers with a pese-lof preyed Hunger to cesse,
They hadde be dolven bothe — ne deme thow noon oother.
“Suffre hem lyve,” he seide and lat hem ete with hogges,
Or ellis benes and bren ybaken togideres.”

Christ, in the form of light, demands entry at the gates of hell:

Eft the light bad unlouke, and Lucifer answerde,
“Quis est iste?
What lord artow?” quod Lucifer. The light soone seide,
“Rex glorie,
The lord of myght and of mayn and alle manere vertues –
Dominus virtutum.
Dukes of this dymme place, anoon undo thise yates,
That Crist may come in, the Kynges sone of Hevene!”
And with that breeth helle brak, with Belialles barres –
For any wye or warde, wide open the yates.
Patriarkes and prophetes, populus in tenebris,
Songen Seint Johanes song, “Ecce Agnus Dei.”
Lucifer loke ne myghte, so light hym ablente.

Tiscali system status

In the United Kingdom to check Tiscali system status ring 0845 663 2200 (charged at local rate).

550 Mail rejected by Windows Live Hotmail

Three days ago an email that I tried to send to a Hotmail address was twice rejected by Hotmail with the message “550 Mail rejected by Windows Live Hotmail for policy reasons. A block has been placed against your IP address …”.

Apparently the reason for this message is that Hotmail has decided that my email service (Lycos webmail) is not being tough enough on spammers. Presumably Hotmail is calculating that the more Lycos emails that it rejects, the more complaints Lycos will receive from their users, and eventually Lycos will be tougher on spammers.

In the meantime I, who have never spammed, cannot send emails from Lycos to Hotmail.

The Extra-Temporal Being

Marcel tries to explain his great sense of happiness when he hears the spoon hit the plate or when he steps on the uneven paving or when he tastes the madeleine. There need not be any happiness in the remembered experience or in the present experience, so where does the happiness come from? Marcel claims that at such moments his impressions are generalised, derived from what is common to the remembered and present experience. The impressions are therefore (in a sense) outside time. A being, a new side of himself, exists at such moments and it is this being which, freed from time and anxieties about the future, experiences great happiness.

The passage I’m discussing above is from Time Regained:

Or, cette cause, je la devinais en comparant entre elles ces diverses impressions bienheureuses et qui avaient entre elles ceci de commun que je les éprouvais à la fois dans le moment actuel et dans un moment éloigné où le bruit de la cuiller sur l’assiette, l’inégalité des dalles, le goût de la madeleine allaient jusqu’à faire empiéter le passé sur le présent, à me faire hésiter à savoir dans lequel des deux je me trouvais ; au vrai, l’être qui alors goûtait en moi cette impression la goûtait en ce qu’elle avait de commun dans un jour ancien et maintenant, dans ce qu’elle avait d’extra-temporel, un être qui n’apparaissait que quand, par une de ces identités entre le présent et le passé, il pouvait se trouver dans le seul milieu où il pût vivre, jouir de l’essence des choses, c’est-à-dire en dehors du temps. (Page 13 of volume 15 of the Gallimard edition, Paris, 1946-47.)

The above passage roughly corresponds to the following passage from Hudson (who translated Time Regained after Moncrieff died):

And I began to discover the cause by comparing those varying happy impressions which had the common quality of being felt simultaneously at the actual moment and at a distance in time, because of which common quality the noise of the spoon upon the plate, the unevenness of the paving-stones, the taste of the madeleine, imposed the past upon the present and made me hesitate as to which time I was existing in. Of a truth, the being within me which sensed this impression, sensed what it had in common in former days and now, sensed its extra-temporal character, a being which only appeared when through the medium of the identity of present and past, it found itself in the only setting in which it could exist and enjoy the essence of things, that is, outside Time. That explained why my apprehensions on the subject of my death had ceased from the moment when I had unconsciously recognised the taste of the little madeleine because at that moment the being that I then had been was an extra-temporal being and in consequence indifferent to the vicissitudes of the future. That being had never come to me, had never manifested itself except when I was inactive and in a sphere beyond the enjoyment of the moment, that was my prevailing condition every time that analogical miracle had enabled me to escape from the present. Only that being had the power of enabling me to recapture former days, Time Lost, in the face of which all the efforts of my memory and of my intelligence came to nought.

Books for Me to Read

Loving by Henry Green

Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

Black Boy by Richard Wright

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Pisan Cantos by Ezra Pound