Dear Harry, I love being on this circuit. It is like instant gratification. I doubt very much that I could curb your enthusiasm and new critical zeal, and I do not want to. I was simply pointing to a two-word description of palmer's dress, which opens up another aspect of his person in the poem. If you decide to do the drag-queen article, let us do it together. That should impede its completion a good bit, but it might be fun. It might even be a Porlock. tpr
"Harry Berger, Jr." wrote:
> "Spenser is obviously making a comparison between Una and her Book II parallel, although I would hate to see an article on the palmer as an Una drag-queen." (T.P. Roche Jr)
>
> So Tom, let's see how close we can get without turning it into an article: Several times Guyon rushes impetuously off to practice what the Palmer preaches-"the weake to strengthen, and the strong suppresse"-only to get misdirected by Archimago, lose his horse to Braggadocchio, take a beating from Furor and a boatride in the wrong direction from Phaedria, and end up half dead outside Mammon's cave. Not an enviable record; less like the patron of temperance than a patient in need of it. This must mean that as guide and teacher the Palmer leaves something to be desired, or possibly something to be feared, or more probably something to be desired and feared. That something, which is necessary to the success of his regimen, is a-krasía, or Acrasia. Eh? Tom? Well, close, but no .
>
> But the idea that the Palmer replaces and parallels Una opens up all sorts of weird possibilities, enough to shut me up for a month or two while I retire into the mind's closet to sort them out.
>
> Now that I am finally connected to this talk tank and have printed out all of the
> palmer stuff for further rumination, and Harry, you may be the oldest New Critic,
> but what an astounding performance! Apologies to anyone who may have mentioned
> this, and I have missed, but the palmer is dressed in black attire whereas they
> traditionally bore a palm and wore unbleached cloth. Spenser is obviously making
> a comparison between Una and her Book II parallel, although I would hate to see an
> article on the palmer as an Una drag-queen. This was first pointed out to me by
> my former colleague, Julia Holloway, from whom I am afraid we can get no further
> information since she has become the Hermit of Fiesole. They are still around.
> Truth can be stranger than fiction. Tom Roche
|