I've been reading Ivanhoe in my off-time lately, one of many in my backlog of books to read. Despite my deep and abiding love for chivalry, I somehow made it three full decades
without reading it or some derivative thereof. I haven't even seen the movie.
I
can't believe Walter Scott was worried about publishing it under his
own name. The action is fun and the setting is beautiful. But the
dialogue is what wins me over. The personal interaction is just
beautiful, on par with Shakespeare, a writer that Scott clearly
emulates. I especially love the scenes involving the Clerk of Copmanhubst, a delightful character if ever there was one. Even better
than the Clerk is the fool Wamba. Wamba's reminiscent of the jester in King Lear, another favorite of mine.
The prose can be kind of dense for 21st century readers. I realize now why I picked up Rob Roy as
a kid and gave up after two pages. I consider myself fairly well-versed
in the English language but I had to reach for a dictionary several
times with Ivanhoe. To some, that might be a bad thing. To a
writer, though, it's like finding new tools he can use later.
Dead Scotsmen aren't the only source of new words for me. I ran into the term rugose while playing a certain card game this month. I had to know what it meant, so I looked it up right then
and what's more, my phone actually let me do it. I wonder if this is a
temporary detente or if the machine and I are friends now.
I bet you're just burning up to know what rugose means. The simplest answer is "wrinkly."
Dictionary's and card games are awesome learning tools and sources of entertainment, At least in my house.
ReplyDeleteI believe you and your phone are at one might call a temporary truce. Don't do anything that might set it off!