Re: ordinary Spenser
David: I lied.
Spenser's ordinary level of fluency is so high that
new lines rise to the surface every time I reread. This
morning's labor was FQ Book 4, where I found myself staring at
the opening line of the passage that describes Ate's dwelling:
"And all within the riven walls were
hung." Harry Berger says this sort of music puts his
students to sleep. I find that it keeps me engaged--rewarded--at
the level of "reading as if listening." And because it
lures me to slow down, it often serves for me as an unnoticed
transition into the activity Berger calls "reading as if
perusing," which means, roughly, reading as if Cleanth
Brooks.
David Lee Miller
Department of
English 543 Boonesboro
Ave
University of
Kentucky Lexington, KY 40508
Lexington, KY
40506-0027 (859) 252-3680
(859)
257-6965
FAX
323-1072