One can imagine this as a proto-Marxian allegory: the giant
of the laboring masses, shouldered off the cliff by the
iron technology of capital (or in Spenser's case the new
agriculture and metalurgy). From now on I will think of
Talus anachronistically as a steam loom.
On Thu, 14 Dec 2000 12:08:16 -0600 "Hardin, Richard F"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thanks for your interest. I guess you've read Nohrnberg et al. on this by
> now, and I was embarrassed that I hadn't recalled N.'s comment on that
> (though it's a huge book, and I read it 20? yrs ago). One bit of evidence
> is that Talus "shoulders" the Commie giant off a cliff, implying that if
> he's not as big as the Commie, he can still take him out. I always imagine
> normal people as coming up to maybe the Commie's mid'calf at most, because
> of the description of all the losers crowded around his feet. Haven't
> gotten the paper yet. Dick Hardin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: H. Easterling [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2000 9:54 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Talus
>
>
> Talus has never seemed particularly 'giantesque' to me, though I'd be
> intrigued to know more about your student's findings. Particularly when
> compared to other Spenserian giants such as Orgoglio or Argante, Talus
> appears to be a quite different creation or idea. It is Talus's
> machine-like attributes that I have always found most strange and also
> compelling. In other words, it is this quality that seems most significant
> to the idea of Talus, and not his stature or any mark of lasciviousness
> (the latter of which clearly marks the other FQ giants mentioned above).
>
> my 2 cents...
>
> Heather Easterling
>
> ***************************************************************************
> Heather C. Easterling
> English Department
> University of Washington
> [log in to unmask]
----------------------
Marshall Grossman
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