Friday, January 24, 2020
William S. Burroughs :: Biography Biographies Essays
William S. Burroughs     William Seward Burroughs died recently at the age of 83 in the quiet of Lawrence, Kansas. Probably no other major American writer ever received such viciously damning "praise" upon his death. Whereas the once ridiculed Ginsberg was eulogized as a major American bard, obit writers like the New York Times' Richard Severo (someone enormously unacquainted with Burroughs' work) could dismiss this oeuvre as druggy experimentation and Burroughs' audience as merely "adoring cultists." Other obit writers, hearing of cut-up techniques and randomness, seemed drawn to the cut and paste icons of their PCs, with which they cobbled lit crit phrases into gibberish. Thus, for the Associated Press, Naked Lunch "unleashed an underground world which defied narration" and was somehow written "without standard narrative prose."      What does it say about the hegemony of realistic modes, and publishers' niches, that a book, first published in Paris almost 40 years ago, still poses such a threat to establishment arbiters that it must be continuously misrepresented. The literary world, after all, is not likely to be flooded by Burroughs wannabes. Though he has influenced experimental filmmakers, conceptual artists and rock bands, his influence on writers and literature is harder to find. He left no school, few followers, no imitators. He was as unique as Joyce. But whereas countless writers all over the world attempted to incorporate Joycean techniques, few have picked up on Burroughs'.      Even back in the mid-60s, the task of mass marketing Burroughs necessitated pigeonholing his work within familiar genres. "The only American novelist living today who might conceivably be possessed by genius," Norman Mailer proclaimed on the cover of the first American paperback edition of Naked Lunch. Its publisher, Grove Press, the most important and most courageous publishing house of that time, knew what it had to do, and subsequent works like Nova Express, The Ticket That Exploded, and The Soft Machine were all pointedly labeled "a novel." Yet Burroughs then and always was "merely" writing books. He was not necessarily trying to change or explode the form of the novel.  In Burroughs' books, routines, raps, skits and rants are held together by the sinews of sharply etched narrative prose. Reading him when he first appeared was like listening to a Lenny Bruce monologue. The "characters" who appeared were all carny voices--barkers, pushers, con men seeking rubes and marks--politicians, presidents of anti-fluoride societies, script-writing old saw bones lecturing on the viral nature of bureaucracy and the State.
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Mark Antony’s Speech
How does Mark Antony persuade the crowd to reject the conspirators in Act III. 3 of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar? During Mark Antony’s compelling speech, he uses various techniques to convince the crowd that the conspirators are murderers not legends. Because the plebians were easily swayed, Mark Antony had this opportunity. To make sure the crowd took his points seriously, Mark Antony has to appear fair and wise. He knows that the plebians are strongly in favour of Brutus, as Brutus has just given them a speech, so if he starts by accusing Brutus, no one would listen to him.Therefore, at the beginning of his speech, Mark Antony was saying that Brutus was â€Å"noble†and â€Å"honourable†. Mark Antony approaches the crowd discernibly. As his arguments grow stronger, the crowds begin to realize that Brutus and the conspirators are wrong. Every time he calls the conspirators â€Å"honourable†, it becomes more ironic and sarcastic and the people start believing it less. To oppose Brutus' claim that Caesar was a heartless tyrant Antony recounts â€Å"how dearly he loved Brutus.Also, Antony humbles himself as â€Å"no orator, as Brutus is†hinting that Brutus used trickery in his speech to deceive the crowd. After that Antony reveals to the crowd Caesar's will, in which â€Å"To every Roman citizen he gives, to every several man seventy-five drachmas†as well as land. He then asks the crowd, â€Å"Here was a Caesar, when comes such another? †which questions the conspirators ability to lead. Finally, Antony releases the crowd and utters, â€Å"Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot. Take thou course thou wilt. After this the crowd riots and searches out the traitors in an attempt to kill them. Mark Antony shows that Caesar was compassionate and that he had a big impact on Antony’s life that he can never forget Caesar: â€Å"My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar. †He claims that they ar e so close that whenever one hurts, the other does too. He starts crying and the crowd understands what he’s going through and we can see this when one plebian says, â€Å"Poor soul, his eyes are red as fire with weeping. †Antony then teases the crowd with Caesar's will, which the beg him to read, but he refuses.Antony tells the crowd to â€Å"have patience†and expresses his feeling that he will â€Å"wrong the honourable men whose daggers have stabbed Caesar†if he is to read the will. The crowd yells out â€Å"they were traitors. â€Å"Honourable men†and have at this time completely turned against the conspirators and are inflamed about Caesar’s death. Even though in his speech Antony never directly calls the conspirators traitors, he is able to call them â€Å"honourable†in a sarcastic manner that the crowd is able to understand.He starts out by pointing out that Caesar had refused the crown three times, which refutes the cons pirator’s main cause for killing Caesar. He reminds them of Caesar's kindness and love for all, proving Caesar as innocent. Next he teases them with the will until they demand he read it, and he reveals Caesar's ‘gift' to the citizens. Finally, Mark Antony, leaves them with the question was there ever a greater one than Caesar, which infuriates the crowd. Mark Antony is able to eloquently manipulate the crowd through remarkable rhetoric skills and turn them against the â€Å"honourable men†.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
The Lyrics for Christmas Eve by Tatsuro Yamashita
Here are the lyrics for Christmas Eve by Tatsuro Yamashita in Japanese, with a romaji translation. You can also hear the song, Christmas Eve on Youtube. There is an English version; though the lyrics are not a literal translation of the Japanese version. ã‚ ¯Ã£Æ' ªÃ£â€š ¹Ã£Æ'žã‚ ¹Ã£â€š ¤Ã£Æ'â€" é› ¨Ã£ ¯Ã¥ ¤Å"æ› ´Ã£ ‘é Žã Žã « é› ªÃ£ ¸Ã£ ¨Ã¥ ¤â€°Ã£â€š ã‚‹ã ã‚ ã †Silent night, Holy night ã 㠣㠨å ݋ ¯Ã¦ ¥Ã£ ªÃ£ „ 㠲㠨ã‚Šã り㠮ã‚ ¯Ã£Æ' ªÃ£â€š ¹Ã£Æ'žã‚ ¹Ã£â€š ¤Ã£Æ'â€" Silent night, Holy night Ã¥ ¿Æ'æ · ±Ã£ ç §ËœÃ£â€š ã ŸæÆ' ³Ã£ „ Ã¥ ¶Ã£ ˆã‚‰ã‚Å'ã 㠆も㠪ã „ Ã¥ ¿â€¦Ã£ šä »Å Ã¥ ¤Å"㠪ら è ¨â‚¬Ã£ ˆã 㠆㠪æ °â€"ã Å'ã â€"ã Ÿ Silent night, Holy night 㠾ã æ ¶Ë†Ã£ ˆæ ®â€¹Ã£â€šâ€¹ Ã¥ ݋ ¸Ã£ ®Ã¦Æ' ³Ã£ „ Ã¥ ¤Å"㠸㠨é™ ã‚Šç ¶Å¡Ã£ è ¡â€"è §â€™Ã£ «Ã£ ¯Ã£â€š ¯Ã£Æ' ªÃ£â€š ¹Ã£Æ'žã‚ ¹Ã£Æ'„ãÆ' ªÃ£Æ' ¼ 銀è‰ ²Ã£ ®Ã£ らã‚ ã Silent night, Holy night Romaji Translation Ame wa yofukesugi ni yuki e to kawaru darou Silent night, Holy night Kitto kimi wa konai hitorikiri no kurisumasu-ibu Silent night, Holy night Kokoro fukaku himeta omoi kanaeraresoumo nai Kanarazu konya nara iesouna ki ga shita Silent night, Holy night Mada kienokoru kimi e no omoi yoru e to furitsuzuku Machikado niwa kurisumasu-tsurii giniro no kirameki Silent night, Holy night Vocabulary é› ¨ (ame): rain Ã¥ ¤Å"æ› ´Ã£ ‘ (yofuke): late at night é› ª (yuki): snow Ã¥ ¤â€°Ã£â€š ã‚‹ (kawaru): to change Ã¥ › (kimi): you 㠲㠨ã‚Šã ã‚Š(hitorikiri): all by yourself ç §ËœÃ£â€š ã Ÿ (himeta): hidden, secret 㠋㠪㠈る (kanaeru): to grant, to answer a prayer Ã¥ ¿â€¦Ã£ Å¡ (kanarazu): certainly ä »Å Ã¥ ¤Å" (konya): tonight æ ¶Ë†Ã£ ˆæ ®â€¹Ã£â€šâ€¹ (kienokoru): remain unmelted è ¡â€"è §â€™ (machikado): a street corner 銀è‰ ² (giniro): silver(color) ã らã‚ ã (kirameki): sparkling, twinkling
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