It is curious to imagine now - in 'the concordance of the future' - one will be able to look at both handwritten mss. (if there is one), the published version (with its punctuation as well as all the other things that make a page a page) and then 2 or 3 versions of spoken renditions - by poet, by performer, with or without music, or done as an improv with, say, a scat version as different from a 'straight' version.
In other words, strict, orthodox interpretations of a particular poem will be laughably odd.
What one does with the core of a poem will be entirely flexible and no doubt judged well, bad or indifferent by the historical context and quality of means of its 'production.'
Good-bye canon, as such, this one says, 'canonearly'!
Stephen V
http://stephenvincent.net/blog/
Now featuring the First 100 Days of Obama, haptics & texts.
--- On Thu, 1/22/09, Robin Hamilton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Robin Hamilton <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Inverted commas and such
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009, 3:56 PM
Seems to be an excellent piece, Doug, part of a larger series of discussions on
MS study, and (the part I URLed) drawing on Parkes' _Pause and Effect_.
Following through on Christopher's heads-up, I had a look (ain't google
books wonderful?) at Isadore of Seville's _Etymologies_, I.20.
Sheesh!! Talk about Rube Goldberg!! Only excelled by I.21, dealing with
"the 26 critical marks placed in poetry."
<g>
http://books.google.com/books?id=igxC93_A-fIC&pg=PT53&lpg=PT53&dq=Isidore+Etymologies+punctuation&source=bl&ots=kZR2ZhQ0Pq&sig=YwtKVK5zZtKNNwZxBRH6mtNUg54&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPT54,M1
... but I'd argue that Isadore there makes my point, in that he seems to be
primarily (entirely?) concerned by the way that pointing in MSS reflects the
spoken voice.
He does seem to carry it to an extreme, admittedly, and whether MSS were ever
*actually scored to the extent that he implies, I wonder ...
Robin
----- Original Message ----- From: "Douglas Barbour"
<[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 11:38 PM
Subject: Re: Inverted commas and such
> Geez, I might have known my old pal, Stephen Reimer would fit in here...
Good for UofA.
>
> Doug
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