5 comments about Translations: A Play (Faber Paperbacks).

1. This is without doubt my favourite play by Friel and one of my favourite plays of all time. However, what I find really frustrating about it is the fact that is nearly always interpreted as being simply about the death of the Irish language and the colonial relationship between the English and the Irish. In other words, it is constantly being interpreted as "uniquely Irish" and I feel this does the play a serious injustice by failing to underline its international appeal. I personally have always read the play as showing that the relationship between a word and what that word designates is not a purely arbitrary one, i.e. a rose by any other name would definitely not smell the same! For example, if someone suddenly started calling me John or Michael instead of Damian, I would feel that a vital part of my identity had been lost. The intricate link between language and identity is of universal significance - it is by no means restricted to Ireland! In fact, the play reminds me a lot of "Le premier jardin" by Anne Hebert and "Lost in translation" by Eva Hofmann.



2. Friel does a wonderful job of using the beginnings of the
   Irish Potato Famine and the callous attitude of the English
   government as a backdrop for the far more interesting issue
   of language and history- more specifically, how the words
   we use can only imperfectly capture the feelings and connections
   we feel about the object itself; and how the stories we
   tell about history can be more important than what actually
   happened. What is most poignant and touching to me is
   the relationship between Maire, who speaks only Irish, and
   Yolland, the British soldier who attempts to learn Irish
   as they fall in love.
   The politics that undo their relationship seem almost to
   happen as an afterthought- the moments they share, and
   their ability to communicate beyond language, make the
   play sad and joyful.
   Although this to me is certainly a very Irish play, its
   impact and meaning(s) cannot be confined to Ireland. It
   poses questions to all of us and the worlds we inhabit.



3. an eloquent, moving play about the love of one's native language (Irish) and the plight of lost languages (Latin, ancient Greek, and so on). Of course, it was written after the largely successful revival of the Irish language. There's your delayed "happy ending." (It's not the same, though, not by a long shot.)
   
   the nice thing about friel's play is that he conveys the machine of colonialism with the appropriate complexity--it isn't "bad Englishman, good Irishman," but something much more complex. sometimes people like Owen, unwittingly or not, sell out their own. Sometimes others, for example the English soldier here, are part of the colonial apparatus, but not consciously or intentionally--and such people may end up being the colonized culture's greatest champions.
   
   I liked it better than Dancing at Lughnasa. It reads well--and a lot of plays don't.



4. I enjoyed reading other reviews, but i was constantly getting the feeling that there was a real ingorance to the underlining theme of the play. On the surface it is about human emotions and the trials a change in culture can have on a society. Friel also challenges the sugnificance of language itself and forces us to seek the relevance of the communication we use. It is thought provoking causing us to realise that everything is subject to human perception, making us questionwhether any liguistic source is reliable, is language just a guise for the truth? Must read for anyone challenging the relevance of everything we know to be real.



5. I'll admit I had expected this play to be another political statement about disappearing languages and the hegemonic powers that threaten them--either that or a celebration of Irish Gaelic (I'm more with Joyce than Yeats when it comes to provincial sentimentality about a nation's older tongue). But Friel manages to make the reader/spectator ponder the seriousness of what can be lost in the translation of the marginal language into the majority discourse. In some instances, the signifer and signified, the sign and its referent are irrevocably separated. In such cases, the resulting loss is not merely to the "richness" of a country's culture but to human consciousness itself. What we can't say we can no longer know or even think.

1 comments about Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History, Volume I.

1. This book was reasonably priced & arrived in the condition exactly as described. Looking to re sell it as soon as my daughter is done with classes.

5 comments about Why I Write (Penguin Great Ideas).

1. Don't be fooled by the title. _Why I Write_ is not a discussion on how Orwell writes, when he started writing, what young writers should know about writing, what veterans should do about their own writing, etc. You'll get a five-page blurb in the beginning about how he was compelled to write and about how he tried to shy away from his dream, and then you get a seven-page blurb at the end about what not to do when you write (e.g., don't use cliches, don't use more words than necessary, don't use a long word when a short word will do, etc.). The rest of it is a discussion about England, Germany, and the history of the times.
   
   Don't get me wrong, the history is interesting, learning about countries and their characteristics and Orwell's thoughts on politics at the time. We learn about British habits and how the meaning of the word "Fascism" has changed from what it originally meant. But we don't learn anything about what we thought the book would be about: Writing.
   
   Flip past page 11 to find out whether or not to buy this book. If you don't like that stuff, just read the beginning and the end. Save yourself the money. And if you're looking for a book that's actually about creative writing, go for King's _On Writing_ or Bradbury's _Zen in the Art of Writing_.



2. This is a great little volume of three of Orwell's essays (aka Eric Blair essays). Unfortunately the product description page give the impression that more than three essays are included.



3. In the book, George Orwell, one of the most talented and gifted writers in the English world, depicts in a frank manner about his literary writing motives and how he reconciles aesthetic enthusiasm with his political purpose.
   
   The book consists of 4 key chapters. Chapter 1 is a full introduction of his literary journey from childhood to adulthood. Orwell maintains that a writer's real experience in life can substantially determine his/her impulse to write (P.4). The four key motives in literary writing including sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political purpose exist in different degree in different writers, depending very much on the atmosphere he/she is living. To Orwell, the key motive to write is that he intends to tell devastating truths about non-individual and public activities with his literary writing skills without humbug, purple passages, meaningless sentences, and decorative adjectives (P.10).
   
   Chapter 2 is about English politics during the Second World War. As a key champion of democratic Socialism, Orwell criticized decadent hypocritical and privileged high class who dominated every aspect of political and economic life in England but they failed to resist any serious war attack by Fascism (P.35). He maintained that England should undertake a wholehearted political change (P.48) if people intended not to be conquered by Hitler. Democratic Socialism could centralize all goods of production for armament purpose and unite people from top to bottom due to approximate equal distribution of income (Pp.74-76).
   
   Chapter 3 was a hanging case in Burma. Orwell uses his literary writing skills to narrate the hanging process of a Hindu condemned prisoner. This unhappy narration is full of detailed descriptions and arresting scenario, and also full of purple passages in which Orwell's literary writing skills are demonstrated. From the condemned cell where the hanged Hindu squatted at to the gallows where the prisoner's neck was hanged for execution, Orwell looked at this sudden life and death process with great unhappiness but smiles. Chapter 4 is a critique of the decadent English language. Orwell maintains that a good piece of political writing should avoid having difficult and useless phrases and jargons (P.120) and it should be clear and meaning and short in words (P.119). In this chapter, Orwell illustrates how academicians and political writers use operators, pretension diction, dying metaphors, and meaningless words (Pp.106-109) to make their works to be a sheer humbug.
   
   Writing can be a very exhaustive and horrible struggle, particularly for those who aspire to write a book. This book is highly recommended to readers who intend to think hard about how to write.



4. This little book contains three fabulous essays and a story by the greatest essayist of the last century. The title WHY I WRITE is also the title of the first essay. These essays represent types as well as specific writings- types that can be found in other essay collections. This little book reveals Orwell's lost legacy as an essayist and journalist which has been overshadowed by his novels.
   
   WHY I WRITE.Why did Orwell occupy his life with writing? His early childhood was punctuated with poetry from the age of four and ended with high school editing. I have tried to find these early writings but,alas,have failed to find anything from earlier than 1920...seventeen in Orwell years. Orwell gives us insights into the reasons he writes: his ego, historical documentation, political influence (unavoidable for the citizens of the Twentieth Century according to Orwell), and ascetic impulse. Orwell, in a letter, once described himself as a "half intellectual" who avoided abstraction; here he tells us that he is concerned only with material things and "the surface of the earth." p.9.
   
   The earthiness of Orwell's writing lead to a humble, direct style of writing that is exemplified in his essays on society. ENGLAND YOUR ENGLAND closely resembles another essay not in this book: My COUNTRY RIGHT OR LEFT.
   
   ENGLAND YOUR ENGLAND discusses the changes and characteristics of England at war. The crumbling British Empire with its useless class peerage system is seen as doomed not only by a possible NAZI victory but the technocracy creatd by a large, growing middle class. England is seen as incipient revolutionary society with an expected upheaval in "six months to a year" from 1940- which could not be stopped unless England was invaded. In MY COUNTRY... the revolution was also incipient but would be marked by "Red militias at the Ritz" and "bloody London gutters." One revolution by the supplanting of the peerage class and yet the other as an old style proletarian uprising. The Labor Party gets short mention as being pro-capitalist since it depends on rising wages to placate union members who support the party.
   
   The reality was the election of Winston Churchill and the Tories during the War, the post war victory of Attlee's Labor Party and the creation of the welfare state by the same middle class Orwell mentions in this essay...hardly a revolution.
   
   A HANGING. The closest Orwell gets to Camus' THE STRANGER. A policeman observes the execution of a Burmese Hindu who dies for unknown reasons. The doomed man politely avoids a puddle before he hangs and a lone dog seems prescient about the coming death. The brutal administration of Burma was no resort hotel job...did Orwell know more about the execution than he writes about?
   
   POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE- a typical language essay. Often quoted in relation to totalitarianism. Orwell tells us that language molds thought and that " changing language will change the political climate". We are introduced to examples of bad writing and given specific rules for avoiding wasted thought "the scrapping of every word or idiom which has outworn its usefulness." Eliminating useless metaphors, operators, pretentious diction and meaningless words will change the thought life of politics and avoid the Newspeak of Big Brother.
   
   The essays are good and the book is worth a good commute reading. These are light and nimble essays-well written, but in the case of the social essays, not very deep. The "half intellectual" had a gift of clarity which has weathered the decades since the mid-Twentieth Century, yet his heart belonged to another time.
   
   I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls, and woke to find it true;
   
   I wasn't born for an age like this; was Smith? was Jones? Were you?
   
   Poem from "Why I Write" by George Orwell, 1946



5. This review is based on the first of the four essays that are included in the book. In the essay "Why I Write", Orwell describes the factors that led him to be a writer.
   
   He portrays him self as a lonely child who found comfort in writing poems and short stories. His personality was not, however, the most significant factor that made him a serious writer; it was the time into which he was born. The political turmoils of the 1930s made Orwell ideologically ambitious and created the political motivation to write. The Spanish civil war and Hitler's ascension led Orwell to the conclusion that totalitarianism was the greatest threat to humanity and that socialist Democracy was the political counterforce. Orwell's mission as a writer was to fight against the former and promote the latter.
   
   The essay "Why I Write" is an account of the role of ideology in a writer's work. Orwell concludes that without the political motivation his prose and writings would have been "sentences without meaning, decorative adjectives and humbug generally".
   
   For the writers of today, this essay stands as a remnant of the time where the world politics seemed bipolar and it was easy to choose a side. Orwell chose the anti totalitarian side. From there he found the purpose and vocation.

5 comments about Wicked Irish.

1. This book was one of several on the night table in the guest room of my friend's house. I read it through before I turned out the light. The next morning, my host said to me: 'I guess you picked up the Wicked Irish book?'
   I admitted I had. He said, 'Whenever somebody says goodnight, goes to bed and laughs for a half-an-hour, I know it's that book.'
   
   And that's precisely what this book is good for, although I will try to work the expression 'the nun's knickers' into a conversation in the near future.
   
   Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG



2. Books like this don't have to cross the line of decency to be fun; but this one does. Ethnic jokes just don't cut it today. Most people have come to undersand this, and unforetunately, some insensitive morons haven't gotten it yet. Ethnic jokes of ANY kind, say a lot about your household - keep them there if you must spew them. Losers comedians use ethnic stereotyping to disguise their deep rooted bigotry. Jokes arefine, but not bigotry/racist/ethnic-bashing ones. Don't bother buying a book insulting to the Irish or anyone. Dia duit!



3. I am trying to learn Gaelic on tape, so I thought this would be a funny addition to my library. They have some extremely interesting phrases in there, including ones that made me laugh out loud. It is a clever little book and I got great fun out of reading it.
   
   Unfortunately, there are no pronunciations provided. I can piece through some of them, but it would be better if they were all shown so I could use them. I'm not sure it is intended for beginners, people who can speak Irish, or just for fun, but this is a significant problem with the book -- I can't use it to make my Irish more interesting!
   
   All in all, it's a funny book to read but it doesn't ultimately help you learn Irish (wicked or otherwise). Irish pronunciations are not easy (at least for me) and the more practice you can get, the better.



4. You can get any travel guide to tell how you should ask for the restroom in a foreign tongue. This book will teach you the Irish Gaelic phrases you REALLY want to translate, such as "Could I Stand you a Pint" and "I'd like some ICED tea. It's a complicated formula. Do you feel your brain cramping up?" Not for the faint hearted or the politically correct. SURE to teach you enough Gaelic to cause a pub fight anywhere that Gaelic is spoken.



5. Even if you only think you might like to learn to speak Irish, this book is full of laughs and some insights on life in Ireland. It is worth the read, if only for the laughs.

5 comments about Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse.

1. Bit too witty to learn anything. The author is too busy being cute to explain anything very well. Also, only marking stressed syllables only does half of the job of scansion; marking both stressed and unstressed syllables provides a complete visual aid for discerning meter. Add to that the author's party-line views on free verse and you have a rather lame book. Consider this a book-length version of Coleridge's horrible little piece on meter. Timothy Steele's All the Fun's in how you Say a Thing is much better.



2. I bought this book for a class and it is my favorite of all our poetry texts. It is just plain fun to read. Hollander presents poetic forms by using them as he explains each concept. I noticed that some people thought this was "too witty" to learn from, but I found it helpful in that I forgot that I was trying to learn and simply just began playing with language. Which is as it should be when writing poetry!
   
   Overall a great book, I recommend it for beginning poets especially. But I'm guessing it would be a fun refresher for veterans of word-craft as well.



3. Read _Rhyme's Reason_ as one delights
   In proper forms the poet writes.
   With this attention getter
   (A rondeau would be better)
   I recommend this handy guide.
   
   John Hollander, by way of me,
   An humble reviewer, as you can see,
   Makes sense of verse terrifically.
   Read _Rhyme's Reason_.
   
   My third edition brings my applause!
   A good deal of poetic laws.
   Find more familiar poetry
   In history and society.
   Shop wisely - heed the ooh's and ah's.
   Read _Rhyme's Reason_.
   All The Funs In How You Say A Thing: An Explanation Of Meter & Versification



4. Hollander's book is a solid little primer on some of the major issues of poetry. Using the technique of "formal self-description" Hollander provides examples of various meters, rhetorical figures, and forms of verse. The writing is clever, and the self-descriptions are insightful.
   
   That said, I think the book is not super useful for teachers, as a textbook that is. Were I to teach a poetry or literature course, I would probably only copy those sections out of the book that cover specific rhetorical figures and stanzaic forms that I planed to teach in my class. Otherwise, a lot of the material will seem superfluous to the work you're doing.



5. For those not well-schooled in the vocabulary and techniques of verse, the book is an exercise in frustration. The author seems more interested in showing how clever he is than actually explaining different poetic forms. I was profoundly disappointed with the book . . . a real waste of money. My advice for the neophyte is, "STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK!" Perhaps its a treasure trove for those with a substantial background in poetry, but for someone relatively new to this art form, I would urge them to buy something else.

5 comments about A Midsummer Night's Dream (The New Folger Library Shakespeare).

1. A Midsummer Night's Dream (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)
   
   This is a terrific book, particularly for those who have not studied Shakespeare or who want to brush up on the play before seeing it performed. The play's text is printed on the right-hand pages, with explanations of archaic or unfamiliar words, terms, meanings, characters, etc. printed on the left-hand pages. Can't take the class? Buy this beautiful little book. I hope the New Folger Libaray publishes similar volumes for all of Shakespeare's plays.
   
   To learn about the historical figures, events, and beliefs in Shakespeare's plays, find a new or used copy Azimov's Guide to Shakespeare. Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Works of Shakespeare. Azimov presents a lucid, interesting chapter on every play. As does Harold Bloom Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human.
   
   -- Bill Brenner



2. This is my favorite comedy by Shakespeare, but it is so much more than that. It also has elements of romance, fantasy, Greek mythology and adventure. The main characters, in search of romance, get lost in a forest of talking animals and fairies. Through a series of chaotic events the two worlds collide and suddenly everyone becomes confused about who they were in love with. Dream and reality become one in this fairytale that I believe is one of Shakespeare's most creative stories.



3. this was awesome, i needed to purchase extra books for a classroom for children that could not obtain their own coppies. this worked out great because the local book stores only had one copy and i needed 5. thank you.



4. Love, the play's centerpiece, is a force of nature. Gods and fairies administer it onto lovers as if fastening strings to puppets. The subjects of divine attention are powerless to alter the strings, parents and dukes shouldn't even try. In the end, harmony reigns only because the benevolent Oberon presides. Oberon changes the way the lovers see each other. The Ghost in Hamlet, Weird Sisters in Macbeth and Iago in Othello work in similar ways. Sometimes when characters have no such guiding force they spin out of control: look what happened to Lear.
   
   Shakespeare's exploration of what makes his characters tick is always fascinating, and may be the most prominent tie that extends from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to his best works. The awkward play within the play, performed by Bottom and his companions, seems like a thunderbolt designed to divert any possible audience's discontent from the main play. Puck's suggestion that the whole thing may be seen as just a dream feels like Shakespeare's (already the author's of Richard III) excuse for the lighthearted and simple story.



5. i know im 13 i have no right to say its confusing but that of my perspective of whate ive seen so far im doing the play in school and im helena hippolyta snout and wall i know oberon is supposed to be like the lead but my teacher cut some parts out so now im the lead ive remembered many lines and a have untill march i love the goofy character of puck if i would of known what he was like that would be who i would try out for in the first place thats kind of like me in real life well i guess ive kind of been off topic im supposed tp be sayimg what i thimk of the book not my personal life well anyways to start out i guess it is a little hard to comprehend for umeducated and young minds but the backround of the setup has star potential that people should figure out and give it the bemefit of the doubt the plan of shakespeares idea to make this story shows comedy and romance back befoe i was born its nice to see the quality of things years later in a time thats desperate for the civilization of superficial people you have to respect the thought coming from other s asif they are friends or family this book or play as i know it has quality beyond the limits of th emind and shows what people can do in a time like that it has many waysof showing the thoughts of people without making an obvious impact on one another. to break down the vocabulary and actually discover the meanings of shakespeares words can have you relate to them in infinate ways without damaging the ways you think of ot without the peocess. to summarize this book allows open minded people of all ages to comprehend the dialogue of the past.

5 comments about The Rumi Collection.

1. Rumi was an incredibly prolific 13th century Persian poet and theologian whose writings continue to have world-wide appeal and resonance in our modern world. I was fortunate to receive this lovely book, and immediately began to read.
   
   It was like drinking the coldest, most thirst-quenching water that goes immediately to the heart and soul. It was like diving into a refreshing ocean and finding pearls and sparkling treasures. Devoid of the kind of pretension, arcane language and obscure meaning that dull much poetry, it speaks with directness and immediacy, yet is astonishingly imaginative.
   
   A perfect introductory collection, it is nicely edited, prefaced and largely translated by Rumi expert Kabir Helminski. Other translators are also included, such as Robert Bly, a poet whose work I enjoy and whose translations of the German poet Rilke I respect. It is both packed and compact, and it has a useful ribbon to mark your place. Whether you are a novice or a Rumi-ologist, you are sure to enjoy this book. It also makes lovely gift.



2. In the West we hear little of the beauty and wisdom of Islamic tradition. Jalalud-din Rumi, the founder of the Mevleviyya Sufi Order, has at least become known to us by name, even if we see only distorted snippets of his poetry.
   
   If you've heard the name or you've seen quotations you like and want to find out more, this book is the best place to start. (The paperback is sure to reappear.) The editor Kabir Helminski, the only Westerner to become a Master of the Mevleviyya Order, is uniquely placed to create an accessible Beginner's Guide that does at least something like justice to the whole Rumi.
   
   Some excerpts come from Rumi's vast output of lyric poetry, often extemporised in a state of rapture. (Remember that in the original the poems rhyme throughout, are written in intricate Persian metres, and were meant to be sung, not spoken.)
   
   Others come from Rumi's great work the "Masnavi". Nothing like it exists in the West: we'd have to get Chaucer, Shakespeare, St Teresa and William Blake to collaborate. It contains poetry, philosophy, spiritual guidance, but above all teaching stories. Muslims understood the complexity of the learning process about a thousand years before anybody in the West realised. Some things are too subtle to learn directly; and some the mind, with its ingrained habits and patterns, actively resists learning. A story can smuggle in a message that would be rejected in any other form.
   
   The final source is a book called "Fîhî ma Fîhî", records of Rumi's day-to-day talk with people who came to see him. Here we see Rumi as he was: a devout practising Muslim, a professional expert on Muslim Sacred Law like his father before him.
   
   If Buddhist spirituality can be austere and bleak, with Rumi we are in a world of light, beauty and flowers. 5 stars because this is an ideal introduction; but remember this is a teensy bouquet from Rumi's vast and crowded garden.



3. An excellent collection of poetry written by Rumi, the master of Sufi poetry, written with depth of meaning and feelings. The poems are broken down under many categories so one can find a poem written for a specific situation. A great intro to Rumi's poetry.



4. What a nice collection of astute poetry. It is the sort of writing that makes one think but entertains at the same time. There are ah ha moments throughout. This is my true first exposure of Rumi in depth and I am a huge fan!



5. Sufism is a word tossed around by Sunnis claiming to have any hold on the subject, but further inquiry reveals they don't consider it to be orthodox, with the celebration in dancing and singing and so on they don't think are halal practices. For them, it is outside the realm of Islam. In actuality, it pre-dated Islam but later merged with it in its own branch. The result, however, is something quite beautiful, and the poems here show this. I might even say the poetry is very sensual.

5 comments about The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative.

1. Gornick manages to analyze exactly what makes a personal essay successful without sounding didactic or sentimental. I'm not surprised, as she is a terrific writer herself. She uses examples of pieces and excerpts from well-known and not-so-well known writers. For anyone who has written creative non-fiction and hasn't always known what to do to improve their work, Gornick offers an unusual way of looking at things, an interesting combination of intuitive and analytical. If you are new to writing, she offers suggestions on how to read other writers, and what to look for. I would add this to "Bird by Bird," by Anne Lamott, as excellent and inspiring books for writers.



2. I thought I'd read 'The Best' works out there on writing, especially a Memoir, but this surpasses all so far since she gives a very CLEAR analysis of using 'your voice' so that you "intrigue, not bore" the reader... making the reader believe and trust in your story and guiding them to a conclusion. I like being offered examples to match my work up against, not unlike when you in a writing workshop.



3. Writers can be like cats, waiting for the right piece of string to be dangled in front of them, the one that tugs. The Situation and Story was that string for me, with the right words and examples at the right time to pull me forward. It's how Gornick describes the necessity to get inside one's own mind, excavate its interiority that makes the book magic. For example, she says, memoir is "a mind puzzling its way out of its own shadows," a way to get acquainted with the stranger who lives inside your own skin." Her use of favorite writers' (Joan Didion and Loren Eisley) stories really helped illustrate for me the situation and the story. Most useful, as a writer of memoir, were these words: "Memoir isn't what happened but what the writer makes of what happened." That's the key to memoir I didn't understand before.



4. It would take a writer more brilliant than the best memoirists of all time to be able to house and examine the architecture and genius therein. Vivian Gornick is such a genius. And I recommend this book to nonfiction readers, memoirists and anyone who is introspective in the least. This is the type of book whose return is based on the creativity and intelligence of the reader, this book has something to give to everyone who reads it. It is highly readable for any occassion, of course, because it speaks of every aspect of life and living, and the individuals relationship to the story of it.



5. I would not recommend the book to my students. The author makes unnecessary judgmental comments on authors such as George Orwell and Oscar Wild.

5 comments about A Sea of Words, Third Edition: A Lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O'Brian.

1. Sea of Words, Third Edition is the essential companion to the completed set of Aubrey-Maturin sea tales by Patrick O'Brian. You can't find these words in other dictionaries.



2. An excellent book, I found all the words I could not find in other nautical terms compilations, well described too!



3. Covering all of the arcane terms and characters from the age of Napoleonic Fighting Sail, this book makes an excellent companion for the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. From an "Able Seaman" to a "Younker", "a Sea Of Words" covers the terms needed to understand this lost age. A vital reference for any arm-chair Admiral.
   
   Unless you are an expert in the subject of square-rigged sailing ships, this book should be purchased along with the first book of the series "Master and Commander" and remain at one's side. It will serve the reader in good stead throughout the entire series.



4. Second Edition.
   
   A valuable companion for O'Brian's books that would be even better if included more contextual quotes or explanations of how O'Brian used some of the terms in the books.
   
   Pair this with Harbors and High Seas, 3rd Edition : An Atlas and Geographical Guide to the Complete Aubrey-Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian, Third Edition on your reference shelf if you are a real fan.



5. All the words and phrases to fully understand the meaning behind the words of O'Brian. Also insight into the world of the Royal Navy in Aubrey's time including the ships and the surgeon's life. I highly recommend this book!

5 comments about Arcadia: A Play.

1. Stoppard wrote some nifty play there for a while, and then he joined PBS and the American regional theatre association's call for safe plays that create a seamless flow in mood from gourmet meal to theatre and back. This is the sort of play that is great for fundraisers, American-style. The play itself is seen as a masterpiece, but notice that it is long-forgotten. It's easy to confuse with "Upstairs Downstairs" or was it "Room of One's Own."? Stoppard fell in love with time-bending stories, mixing modern and Victorian, and has made it his signature style. Dramatic impact is destroyed in the process, but who cares? The goal is not to shake people people up but to make them feel good. Compare "Arcadia" with a Dicken's novel and you are half way there.



2. Tom Stoppard's famous play Arcadia takes place in the same English country estate across two eras: the early Nineteenth Century and the present day. The story divides between Thomasina, the owner's young daughter and her tutor Septimus, and the academics Hannah and Bernard, investigating a possible scandal caused by Lord Byron when he stayed there. The present-day researchers discover, among other things, Thomasina's mathematical gifts, the rise of the picturesque in landscaping, and the Romantic temperament, especially concerning love.
   
   This is an extremely funny play, starting with Thomasina's opening line, "Septimus, what is carnal embrace?". At the same time, it also teaches us about science, math, and literature. It moves seamlessly between the two time periods, and gives all the information we need to understand the various topics in entertaining ways. It is a joy to read.



3. If you pride yourself on knowing great literature, especially within the realm of theatre, this play is excellent. Humorous and incredibly smart. Don't let the whole thermodynamics thing freak you out. You don't have to be a scholar to read this play, just a person with interesting taste.



4. I have enjoyed tom stoppard's plays for 20+ years. It was fun reading the actual "script" the play/movie was based on. My eldest son, JJ did an
   extensive dissertation on his work in college otherwise this playwright would probably have been off my radar screen. I also recommend "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
   James C. S. Colquhoun



5. The urbane play `Arcadia' by the erudite dramatist Stoppard is wonderful on a multitude of levels, emotionally, philosophically, satirically and intellectually. I arrived at this conclusion partly because of the unique characterisation, partly because the colourful dialogue packed with innuendo, sarcasm, wit, intellectual discourse and repartee and partly because of the powerful philosophical issues which it addresses so elegantly. Stoppard sets the play partly in the 19th century where he brings together upper class aristocrats, middle class professionals and working class domestics and partly in the 20th Century where the stage is shared by a set of zealous authors, researchers and academics both occurring in the stately Croom estate.
   
   In the 19th Century time period, Stoppard introduces us to the precocious, young aristocrat Thomasina Coverly and her cynical polymath tutor Septimus Hodge and uses their academically charged conversations to ask several vital questions that shape humanity and the universe, from chaos theory vs determinism, the fate of the universe according to the second law of thermodynamics, Romanticism vs. Classicism, the importance of discovery and the head vs. The heart to name a few. Stoppard does not short change the audience in comedy in doing this though, quite the contrary, he allows us to witness numerous farcical situations between the impossibly conceited mother of Thomasina, Lady Croom and the hapless Chater (whose harlot wife is Septimus's latest conquest) and their interrogation of the randy young tutor on his sexual liaisons with various women on the estate,which provides for highly compelling comic relief.
   
   As the story progresses, Stoppard introduces the 20th Century characters, the candid, forthright author Hannah Jarvis who is researching the estate for her new book, the foppish, Machiavellian university don Bernard Nightingale who believes there is a connection between the death of Chater and Byron and Valentine who is Coverly progeny and a biological mathematician along with his impetuous, hormonal sister Chloe Coverly. In the modern day plot, Stoppard investigates the importance of truth, and discovery through the arguments between Hannah and Bernard on how Chater really died while he confers on the importance of Science and Literature through Bernard's mean spirited, petulant diatribes and sophomoric, obstreperous attacks on a docile Valentine. I found both of these highly engaging and interesting debates.
   
   Stoppard also cleverly constructs certain characters such as Chloe and Valentine as legatees of Thomasina and Septimus to behave as vehicles to facilitate the audience to observe the change in social norms and mores through time, from the class conscious patriarchal society of the 19th Century where the brilliant Thomasina can't follow her dreams to become a scientist to the socially emancipated 20th century where Chloe engages in loose sexual relationships with the callous, pseudo-intelligent academic Bernard. Stoppard uses this to demonstrate class marginalization and ostracism in the 19th Century and its change to the 20th Century and the consequences of patriarchy on history which led unquestionably to the loss of real intellect due to superfluous social forces.
   
   Stoppard incorporates stage props and costumes to complement the eclectic stage action seamlessly; he allows both plots to occur on the same stage enabling the central themes and motifs to always be evident to the vigilant audience member. But perhaps Stoppard's most remarkable innovation in Arcadia was allowing the 19th and 20th Century characters to appear on stage simultaneously with the same costumes during a waltz, the conversations mirror through the time periods and makes for spellbinding, enthralling entertainment. Arcadia is a truly unique experience and Stoppard introduces ideas and issues in cascading proliferation like no other play which culminates in an ending that will surely tug at one's heartstrings. It has everything a play should have, do everything you can to buy or watch this truly marvellous play.