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Don Quixote · 05-02-2005, 08:02 AM

Good topic, Rez. Could I also suggest that people explain a little about why they chose the couplet they did?

There are too many to mention, of course, but off the top of my head, there are two very different favorites of mine. I chose them because I like how they speak volumes with just a few simple words.

1) From "Sixteen Miles":
"So knock me down and pick me up and knock me down again/Break my heart, steal my gold and slander my good name". How many (negative) adjectives could you come up with to describe this woman and this relationship? If you stop at 10, you're not trying. You could make a short story, or a film, out of those two verses.

2) From "Don Quixote" (or, Rez, is it "Don Kemosabe"?), since this song has been prominent on the forum lately:
"See the wise and wicked ones who feed upon life's sacred fire/See the soldier with his gun, who must be dead to be admired".
The first part of the couple is surprisingly complex, the second chillingly simple, and the internal rhyme (ones/gun) sews them together. The first verse has two separate patterns of alliteration, the "w's" of "wise and wicked ones", and the subtler "f's" of "feed...life's... fire" that are in opposition to the "w's". Although there is no specification about who these "wise and wicked ones" are, it isn't hard to imagine lots who fit into the category: those who use religion, patriotism, love, family, charity and the like for their own twisted purposes: money, power, status, fulfillment of base desires. You can make up your own list: pedophile priests, gingoistic warmongers who themselves have never served in the military (no, of course I'm not talking about anybody we know), athletes, politicians and others who have affair after affair and then hide behind their spouses who pose for the reporters and say how much they love and support their guys...well, the list could go on forever. It becomes a full-blown fight of good against evil: the wicked against the sacred, the wicked hiding behind sacred pretexts to do their dirty deeds. The second verse of the couplet, of course, is simpler, and is the result of the first--nameless soldiers who slog through the horrors of war because of the greed and hunger for power by those who are in command of those who are appreciated only when they're killed.

I'm sure lots of us will think of lots of other couplets in the days ahead. Nice job, Rez.

05-02-2005, 08:02 AM	#14
Don Quixote Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Springfield, MA 01109 Posts: 309	Good topic, Rez. Could I also suggest that people explain a little about why they chose the couplet they did? There are too many to mention, of course, but off the top of my head, there are two very different favorites of mine. I chose them because I like how they speak volumes with just a few simple words. 1) From "Sixteen Miles": "So knock me down and pick me up and knock me down again/Break my heart, steal my gold and slander my good name". How many (negative) adjectives could you come up with to describe this woman and this relationship? If you stop at 10, you're not trying. You could make a short story, or a film, out of those two verses. 2) From "Don Quixote" (or, Rez, is it "Don Kemosabe"?), since this song has been prominent on the forum lately: "See the wise and wicked ones who feed upon life's sacred fire/See the soldier with his gun, who must be dead to be admired". The first part of the couple is surprisingly complex, the second chillingly simple, and the internal rhyme (ones/gun) sews them together. The first verse has two separate patterns of alliteration, the "w's" of "wise and wicked ones", and the subtler "f's" of "feed...life's... fire" that are in opposition to the "w's". Although there is no specification about who these "wise and wicked ones" are, it isn't hard to imagine lots who fit into the category: those who use religion, patriotism, love, family, charity and the like for their own twisted purposes: money, power, status, fulfillment of base desires. You can make up your own list: pedophile priests, gingoistic warmongers who themselves have never served in the military (no, of course I'm not talking about anybody we know), athletes, politicians and others who have affair after affair and then hide behind their spouses who pose for the reporters and say how much they love and support their guys...well, the list could go on forever. It becomes a full-blown fight of good against evil: the wicked against the sacred, the wicked hiding behind sacred pretexts to do their dirty deeds. The second verse of the couplet, of course, is simpler, and is the result of the first--nameless soldiers who slog through the horrors of war because of the greed and hunger for power by those who are in command of those who are appreciated only when they're killed. I'm sure lots of us will think of lots of other couplets in the days ahead. Nice job, Rez.