Can someone translate please? I can’t stand Shakespeare at the best of times, and I’ve been working way too much this month to read an entire play just to get the subtext of one line.
What’s to translate? There’s a spirit locked away from the outside world as punishment for not going along with what a more powerful force wanted it to do. I haven’t read The Tempest, but I can definitely see the parallels to Nick anyway.
Poorly translated, maybe something like: “You were a delicate spirit, and didn’t want to follow her orders. Since you refused to follow her plans, she imprisoned you, with the help of more powerful spirits, in a pine tree with a crack in it. In that crack, stuck, you painfully stayed.”
It’s from the Tempest. Prospero recounting Ariel’s imprisonment by the evil witch Sycorax. In context, Dr. Lee is likening herself to Sycorax and Nick to Ariel.
FWIW, I read Anasigma as the “more potent ministers.” Technically, Dr. Lee worked for them, but in this case, it was her science (::Sycorax’s magic) that accomplished the imprisonment, and Anasigma “help”ed by providing her with the tools to do so.
“…But I saw some sh*t this weekend made me think twice. See, now I’m thinking, maybe it means you’re the unmitigable rage, and I’m the servant, and my sane science, it’s mine art protecting me from the torment that gets laid upon the damn’d. Or it could mean you’re the spirit too delicate and I’m the wizard and it’s Anasigma that’s the damn’d witch Sycorax. I’d like that. But that sh*t ain’t the truth. The truth is, you’re the delicate spirit, and I’m the freckled whelp hag-born. But I’m trying, Nick. I’m trying REAL HARD to be the wizard.”
Brilliant. And darned close to iambic pentameter, too. It just needs a little shift here or there to fit in (at least as closely as Will himself stuck to the form).
“Because you are too delicate a spirit, you disobeyed the horrible commands the witch gave you. In retaliation, she hired more powerful spirits to imprison you in a hollow tree, where you stayed.”
It’s from Act I, Scene 2 of The Tempest. Prospero is commending the island spirit Ariel for refusing to do the bidding of an evil witch, no matter how much she tortured him.
I would guess that Virginia considers herself to be the evil witch. However, she may also consider herself Prospero. By the beginning of the play, the witch has died in the intervening 12 years. I think Virginia is saying that she sees the chapter where she helped end-run Nick into Skin Horse’s care as a turning point; that she is no longer using her science to please an evil master, but for her own ends that while selfish, are ultimately good.
Remember that at this point, Virginia has come to the conscious realization that she loves Nick. If they could tell each other that, things would be a lot simpler. But that’s not how they work, and often that’s not how life works. Metaphorically, she’s saying “Dude, I’m sorry I stuck your brain in a combat oriented, black ops helicopter. You proved you were a better being than me when you refused to fight. Like the witch, I’ll leave.”
Also, note that at the end of the play, Prospero gives up his magic. If she wants to become Prospero, she may have to give up SCIENCE!
I’ll quote the Bard tonight,
As we’re returning to D.C. …
I’ll quote the Bard tonight,
As I’m departing, poignantly …
’Cause now I feel a bit sick
’Bout what I did to you, Nick!
I think it just ain’t right!
You act on our com-mands,
We fly across the U.S.A.!
Our lives are in your hands …
I’d like to thank you, in some way!
But now we can’t even kiss,
Because your innards still miss
A couple vi-tal glands!
What he wrote,
There in Scene Two of Act One,
I will quote …
Why did I do what I’ve done?
(’twas fun!)
I’ll quote the Bard tonight,
Because I’m feeling a bit sad …
I’ll quote the Bard tonight,
Because my actions were so bad!
When I was schlorping your brains
Out of your earthly remains,
I thought, “This just ain’t right!”
And now I’m sad tonight …
Man, this is such a bite!
Panel 1: “…For you were too good to do the evil things she commanded of you…”
Panel 2: “…For refusing her orders, she imprisoned you, with the help of her more powerful servants…”
Panel 3: “… Inside a broken tree, where you remained painfully trapped within the torn cleft in the wood…”
That’s a slightly rough translation, and loses a little of both the meaning and conciseness (particularly with panel 1).
In the context of the play, that’s Prospero, a largely “true neutral” wizard, speaking to Ariel, an air spirit who is his indentured servant (indentured because Prospero freed him from aforementioned imprisonment). Ariel was imprisoned by Sycorax, the evil witch who inhabited the island they live on before Prospero arrived and drove her out. He may not have done this because she was evil, but merely because he wanted the island for himself, it’s never made entirely clear.
This was meant to be a reply to Victor above. I don’t know why the system processed it as a general reply instead of placing it under Victor’s comment.
Hmmm….in much the same way that the events in these pages are revisited through filking, might it be similarly interesting/amusing/indecent/crazy to revisit the events through a rephrasing of Shakespeare’s lines? For an example (relating generally to the present story line):
If Colma’s undead have offended,
think but this and all is blended.
That zombies have a source of brains
and swamp is now fed through the drains.
All ’cause Skinhorse did their thing
so sapients could safely dream
(compared with the original by Puck at the end of Midsummernight’s Dream)
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
OK – not perfect – a syllable off here and there, with much opportunity for improvement – but you get the idea.
Not filking (hmmm… Nor Bilking… Shakeing).. how about “bardderol”?
About 30 years ago I read in the paper that a great thing was happening at the Canadian National Exhibition – The Tempest was being performed with experimental newfangled *computerized lighting* that moved around by itself and did all kinds of incredible things! I just had to show up to this little theatre there to see it, free!
So I did and I can still see Prospero waving a six-sided staff – with runes on it – bellowing something while all around him his robe blew around and the LIGHTS!
All around him the lights flashed back and forth up and down – it was incredible! I can still see it!
Go look that up, Nick. It might make you feel better if you know exactly how well Virginia thinks of you.
Can someone translate please? I can’t stand Shakespeare at the best of times, and I’ve been working way too much this month to read an entire play just to get the subtext of one line.
What’s to translate? There’s a spirit locked away from the outside world as punishment for not going along with what a more powerful force wanted it to do. I haven’t read The Tempest, but I can definitely see the parallels to Nick anyway.
I still don’t get it.
Poorly translated, maybe something like: “You were a delicate spirit, and didn’t want to follow her orders. Since you refused to follow her plans, she imprisoned you, with the help of more powerful spirits, in a pine tree with a crack in it. In that crack, stuck, you painfully stayed.”
It’s from the Tempest. Prospero recounting Ariel’s imprisonment by the evil witch Sycorax. In context, Dr. Lee is likening herself to Sycorax and Nick to Ariel.
I think she’s more likening Anasigma/the Air Force to Sycorax, making Dr. Lee herself more Prospero in this analogy.
FWIW, I read Anasigma as the “more potent ministers.” Technically, Dr. Lee worked for them, but in this case, it was her science (::Sycorax’s magic) that accomplished the imprisonment, and Anasigma “help”ed by providing her with the tools to do so.
“…But I saw some sh*t this weekend made me think twice. See, now I’m thinking, maybe it means you’re the unmitigable rage, and I’m the servant, and my sane science, it’s mine art protecting me from the torment that gets laid upon the damn’d. Or it could mean you’re the spirit too delicate and I’m the wizard and it’s Anasigma that’s the damn’d witch Sycorax. I’d like that. But that sh*t ain’t the truth. The truth is, you’re the delicate spirit, and I’m the freckled whelp hag-born. But I’m trying, Nick. I’m trying REAL HARD to be the wizard.”
Win.
Yes.
Weeping with joy here. I want “I’m trying real hard to be the wizard” to be a thing everyone says from now on.
You have won all things, ever.
Brilliant. And darned close to iambic pentameter, too. It just needs a little shift here or there to fit in (at least as closely as Will himself stuck to the form).
Thank you: I’m glad people enjoyed it. Particularly since I got the idea from the all the ways people were thinking of the strip’s meaning.
“Because you are too delicate a spirit, you disobeyed the horrible commands the witch gave you. In retaliation, she hired more powerful spirits to imprison you in a hollow tree, where you stayed.”
It’s from Act I, Scene 2 of The Tempest. Prospero is commending the island spirit Ariel for refusing to do the bidding of an evil witch, no matter how much she tortured him.
I would guess that Virginia considers herself to be the evil witch. However, she may also consider herself Prospero. By the beginning of the play, the witch has died in the intervening 12 years. I think Virginia is saying that she sees the chapter where she helped end-run Nick into Skin Horse’s care as a turning point; that she is no longer using her science to please an evil master, but for her own ends that while selfish, are ultimately good.
Remember that at this point, Virginia has come to the conscious realization that she loves Nick. If they could tell each other that, things would be a lot simpler. But that’s not how they work, and often that’s not how life works. Metaphorically, she’s saying “Dude, I’m sorry I stuck your brain in a combat oriented, black ops helicopter. You proved you were a better being than me when you refused to fight. Like the witch, I’ll leave.”
Also, note that at the end of the play, Prospero gives up his magic. If she wants to become Prospero, she may have to give up SCIENCE!
I’m sure Jeff and Shaenon thought of this when writing Nick’s character. The analogy is near perfect.
Fantastic. Wonderful. Thank you.
(TUNE: “A Hard Day’s Night”, The Beatles)
I’ll quote the Bard tonight,
As we’re returning to D.C. …
I’ll quote the Bard tonight,
As I’m departing, poignantly …
’Cause now I feel a bit sick
’Bout what I did to you, Nick!
I think it just ain’t right!
You act on our com-mands,
We fly across the U.S.A.!
Our lives are in your hands …
I’d like to thank you, in some way!
But now we can’t even kiss,
Because your innards still miss
A couple vi-tal glands!
What he wrote,
There in Scene Two of Act One,
I will quote …
Why did I do what I’ve done?
(’twas fun!)
I’ll quote the Bard tonight,
Because I’m feeling a bit sad …
I’ll quote the Bard tonight,
Because my actions were so bad!
When I was schlorping your brains
Out of your earthly remains,
I thought, “This just ain’t right!”
And now I’m sad tonight …
Man, this is such a bite!
An attempt at modern English “translation”:
Panel 1: “…For you were too good to do the evil things she commanded of you…”
Panel 2: “…For refusing her orders, she imprisoned you, with the help of her more powerful servants…”
Panel 3: “… Inside a broken tree, where you remained painfully trapped within the torn cleft in the wood…”
That’s a slightly rough translation, and loses a little of both the meaning and conciseness (particularly with panel 1).
In the context of the play, that’s Prospero, a largely “true neutral” wizard, speaking to Ariel, an air spirit who is his indentured servant (indentured because Prospero freed him from aforementioned imprisonment). Ariel was imprisoned by Sycorax, the evil witch who inhabited the island they live on before Prospero arrived and drove her out. He may not have done this because she was evil, but merely because he wanted the island for himself, it’s never made entirely clear.
This was meant to be a reply to Victor above. I don’t know why the system processed it as a general reply instead of placing it under Victor’s comment.
Nessus – was that done using “Google Shakespeare Translator”?
No, that’s just my own casual go at it. I hope being compared to Google translate doesn’t mean I’ve made a hash of it, LOL.
Hmmm….in much the same way that the events in these pages are revisited through filking, might it be similarly interesting/amusing/indecent/crazy to revisit the events through a rephrasing of Shakespeare’s lines? For an example (relating generally to the present story line):
If Colma’s undead have offended,
think but this and all is blended.
That zombies have a source of brains
and swamp is now fed through the drains.
All ’cause Skinhorse did their thing
so sapients could safely dream
(compared with the original by Puck at the end of Midsummernight’s Dream)
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
OK – not perfect – a syllable off here and there, with much opportunity for improvement – but you get the idea.
Not filking (hmmm… Nor Bilking… Shakeing).. how about “bardderol”?
In the same way that folk songs became “filk” songs, a parody of a poem is called a “piem”. Good pietry there!
And all this time I thought the Pietasters were named for pie tasters, not filky poetasters.
… and that also invokes Piet Hein’s ‘grooks’! SCORE!
–Dave, will portmanteau for foodz
[Game over]
[Sad end]
And that’s when you play the sequel!
It ain’t over until it’s over and everyone has left the stage and the building has crumbled to dust
Consider you audience on this forum. Somebody might come up with a way to make that happen in seconds, not decades.
About 30 years ago I read in the paper that a great thing was happening at the Canadian National Exhibition – The Tempest was being performed with experimental newfangled *computerized lighting* that moved around by itself and did all kinds of incredible things! I just had to show up to this little theatre there to see it, free!
So I did and I can still see Prospero waving a six-sided staff – with runes on it – bellowing something while all around him his robe blew around and the LIGHTS!
All around him the lights flashed back and forth up and down – it was incredible! I can still see it!
Glad I read the paper that day…
I’ve read this like 5 times and it still makes me teary.