2 comments about The Rumi Collection.

1. I greatly enjoy the poetry of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. His poems move me to action -- they put a smile on my face -- bring a sigh to my heart. I have at least half a dozen if not more books by the Mevlana.

   Of all these books, this is perhaps one of my favourites. Many recent authors have taken to reinterpreting the Sufi Master; but I feel that in those works, the original author's message becomes intermixed with the translators'.

   In this translation, the translator has attempted to keep close to the original intent and writing of the Mevlana, yet not getting into difficult English like earlier translations by R.A. Nicholson.

   The result, to me at least, is a more powerful spiritual punch and deeper tug at one's heart-strings.

   If you love the poetry of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, this is one book you should add to your collection, so at least you get a better feel of his voice.




2. 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.

No comments about Think On My Words: Exploring Shakespeare's Language.

5 comments about All The Fun's In How You Say A Thing: An Explanation Of Meter & Versification.

1. If you check out the cities of the other reviewers, you will notice they are all from around or near LA. That is because they were all, very likely, students of Steele at CAl State LA.

   I wonder if their individual reviews of this book helped them get a better grade in his poetry course?

   While Steele is a good poet (see his poetry books), he has made a name for himself in academia by self-righteously asserting that poetry must be written a certain way to be truly poetic. He does not merely frown on free verse; he rejects it.

   Steele likens free verse to playing tennis without a net. HIs point seems to be that once the rules of a game are broken, something has been lost in the joy of playing or watching it. However, tennis without a net is called paddle ball, and unless you're a New English prig straight out of the pages of Yankee magazine, it's a heck of a lot of fun.




2. I would definitely not recommend this book to beginners. Don't get me wrong, it's probably the best book on prosody out there, but it can be difficult reading. The book is loaded with information, and Steele's knowledge on the subject comes through. But it isn't the book I'd start with. But if you have a general idea of form and meter, then there is no better book to strengthen and teach you. Part One, on iambic verse, should be read by any serious poet. The only problem I found with the book is that Steele uses a lot of Old English, Middle English, and foreign language examples, where I think something we all can sound out would have been a better choice. Still, for anyone who is serious about poetry, this is a book that should be read and studied.



3. I am currently a student in an undergraduate creative writing program, and I love (and write) free verse. A previous reviewer criticizes Steele for his "rejection" of free verse; this reason is the basis of his/her low rating of the book. Timothy Steele doesn't have a deep admiration of free verse. He even calls it secondary to the main accentual-syllabic tradition. Although I agree with the previous reviewer about Steele's view of free verse, I do not, however, think this book is lessened by Steele's view.

   Steele makes it known from the beginning that the majority of the book will be devoted to iambic verse. I bought this book for an intensive study of form and meter, and the book did not let me down. Not only does Steele cover the principles of scansion and metrical variation, Steele takes the reader into the history of our verse and how it has developed over time. He also explores the development of the English language, rhyme, stanza, elision, and grammar's relation to meter. He doesn't even stop there. He covers much more territory; and, by the end of this book, I feel that I have a firm grasp on formal poetic technique.

   The only criticism I have is that Steele does have a tendency to overkill some very basic concepts (the discussion of enjambment goes on page after page, the elision chapter went on for quite a while... it could have been more concise).

   If you are looking for a book to give you a thorough, clear, and engaging explanation of formal poetic technique, this is a very helpful book. I can truthfully say after reading it I am more confident of my understanding of meter and versification and that I am also more confident of my skills as a free-verse poet. I highly recommend this book.




4. Steele here, unlike in *Missing Measures*, is not engaging in a polemic, but is rather engaging in one of the most thoughtful explorations of accentual-syllabic prosody that I have read. His descriptions of the iambic pentameter line and the variations of that line, relative stress, and indeed the diversity of uses to which "traditional" verse can be put are revelatory and even inspiring. It isn't your old da-DA-da-DA-da-DA-da-DA-da-DA.



5. Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to read a variety of handbooks and guides to poetry and by far and away this is the single most comprehensive, educational and well-written work on English prosody currently available. It supercedes the old standbys: Fussell, Beum & Shapiro, Oliver, Baer and Hollander.
   
   The book discusses and explains all prosodic systems: accentual-alliterative, accentual-syllabic, syllabic, quantitative and free-verse. Its focus, quite naturally, is on accentual-syllabic systems, particularly the iambic line. Steele's discussion of trochaic, anapestic, dactyllic and amphibrachic lines are insightful. In addition to prosody, scansion and metrical substitution, Steele covers syntax, enjambment, elision, rhyme and stanza forms as well.
   
   Throughout, Steele gives numerous illustrative examples from English poetry throughout its history, from Beowulf to Chaucer on up to modern, living writers.
   
   If a reader or writer of formal verse has room on the shelf for only one such handbook, this is the one to purchase.

5 comments about The Riverside Chaucer.

1. To gauge Chaucer's merit as a poet and as a HUMAN is in our time demanding and therefore questionable. Velleity MAY yield amusement. I will quote Ezra Pound:
   
   "Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of good books for ever. ... As to the relative merits of Chaucer and Shakespeare, English opinion has been bamboozled for centuries by a love of the stage, the glamour of the theatre, the love of bombastic rhetoric and of sentimentalizing over actors and actresses; these, plus the national laziness and unwillingness to make the least effort, have completely obscured the values."
   
   Pound the iconoclast. He does however wake one up to something beyond conjecture:
   
   "Chaucer wrote when reading was no disgrace... Chaucer really does comprehend the thought as well as the life of his time... The Wife of Bath's theology is not a mere smear... 'conseilling is nat comandement.' Chaucer wrote while England was still a part of Europe. He was more compendious than Dante. ...Chaucer uses French art, the art of Provence, the verse art come from the troubadours. He is La Grand Translateur. He had found a new language, he had it largely to himself, with the grand opportunity. Nothing spoiled, nothing worn out. Dante had had a similar opportunity, and taken it, with a look over his shoulder and a few Latin experiments. ...Chaucer and Shakespeare have both an insuperable courage in tackling any, but absolutely any, thing that arouses their interest..."
   
   It goes on and on. One CAN trace the metamorphoses of English verse. Its origin is with Chaucer.



2. This is the best edition of Chaucer on the market, including all of his major works. If you're serious, this is the one to get.



3. There are two questions at issue:
   
   Why Chaucer? Why the Riverside?
   
   First the second. If you are going to read Chaucer, this is the edition to get. It is the critical edition, which means this is the one that scholars quote from in their writings about Chaucer. This is the one any self-respecting Chaucer course will assign. This is the grown-up's edition of Chaucer. And beyond that, it's a great edition -- based on the inspired editors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and with the notes and glosses that you need to link up to the most important backgrounds and criticism.
   
   Also, the Riverside is the complete edition; it presents everything in the original Middle English. That means you get not only the Canterbury Tales, but also all the minor poems -- Troilus and Criseyde (honestly, his most moving poem), the so-called minor poems (the dream visions and lyrics) and Chaucer's translations. The paperback Riverside is also surprisingly easy to carry around.
   
   As to the other question, why Chaucer? Perhaps because he is, as John Dryden called him, the "Father of English Poetry." Any serious student of English literature needs to start here (Shakespeare did!). Also, Chaucer is just supremely human, if that means having a supremely human sense of humor -- one that pokes fun at all the pretensions of our mortal state. At the same time he is capable of grasping after the utmost reaches of human feeling, both religious and romantic. A serious reading of Chaucer reminds a person that the human soul is not an invention of any region or time period of history. The laughter and the tears that are part of what his copyist Shakespeare later calls the "mortal coil" are all here.
   
   Probably the best bargain of a book on all of amazon.com -- NO KIDDING.
   
   As Chaucer himself said, "What is this world, What asketh man to have, Now with his love, now in his colde grave -- allone withouten any compaignye" -- only the Riverside Chaucer; lost on a desert island with no other companion -- this is the first book you would want to have with you and the last one.



4. For whom is the Riverside Chaucer designed? Certainly, if you are a general interest reader encountering Chaucer for a single class (i.e. a survey of Middle English literature) then the Riverside is too large, expensive, and unnecessary. However, if you are an English major, scholar of Medieval literature, graduate student, et cetera, then the Riverside Chaucer is a must.
   
   When you buy this book you can recycle your paperback editions that have just "The Canterbury Tales" or just "The Parliament of Fowls"; collected here are all the works ever written by Chaucer (including a few of dubious authorship). The Riverside is terrific for its sheer volume of its contents, especially as it contains works by Chaucer that are unavailable, or hard to find, as separate edition (particulary his translation of Boethius' "De Consolatione Philosophiae").
   
   Other than serving as your "one-stop Chaucer shop" the Riverside should be celebrated for its elaborate and informative scholary notes. Footnotes, endnotes, indices of proper names, maps, a glossary, and information on pronunciation and verse round out this comprehensive edition. In summary, if you plan on encountering Chaucer more than the average students who takes perhaps a single class dealing with him, this is the edition for you. Those who decide to pursue scholarly work will need the Riverside, as it is THE edition from which Chaucer is cited in research.



5. A great collection of Chaucer. It's hard to find his other works combined with the Canterbury Tales. The book is well bound and will be something that can be durable enough to stay on the shelves for decades.
   
   The entire book is written in Middle English however. There are plenty of footnotes, but often times the reader will need to find a translation to fully understand some of the passages.

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."

   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, though i haven't had the chance to see this one performed. 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.

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

1. Why I Write is a collection of four pieces by one of the best writers of the twentieth century. George Orwell is best known for his political fables Animal Farm and 1984, but was also a prolific essayist and author of numerous short stories, many of them based on his own experiences in British-controlled Burma. This books includes three essays--"Why I Write", "The Lion and the Unicorn", and "Politics and the English Language"--and the short story "A Hanging."
   "Why I Write" offers the reader a look into one great writer's motivations for writing, as Orwell lays out the only real reasons anyone writes. "The Lion and the Unicorn" is fascinating, not only for its often humorous descriptions of the British national character, but for the political ideas expressed in it and the knowledge, made clear by Orwell at the beginning, that this was written in the midst of the Blitz. "Politics and the English Language" is a brief guide to the fatal flaws of modern writing--all of which have lasted beyond Orwell--and how to mend them. "A Hanging" is reminiscent of another of Orwell's famous short stories, "Shooting the Elephant," as it describes an otherwise mundane action in ominous, metaphoric terms.
   While hardly exhaustive, this collection of Orwell's essays is a good introduction to Orwell, his writings, and his political views. Makes very good reading for a trip, which is where I read it.
   Highly recommended.



2. Although I grew tired of "The Lion and the Unicorn," the two other essays and the one short story made up for it and then some. It's a fantastic example of good writing and makes clear the reason why George Orwell, who died in 1950, is still a relevant writer today.



3. This short (120 pages) book of 4 essays from one of the great modern writers is worth the read for three reasons:
   
   1. The last essay, 'Politics and the English Language' should be required of all political writers and business writers as well. Though 50 years old it is equally pertinent today; well summarized in the 6 rules in the next to the last page.
   
   2. The Hanging showed his descriptive skills, "Eight o'clock and a bugle call, desolately thin in the wet air, floated from the distant barracks." His description of the hanging of a Hindu man had more clarity than any modern photograph.
   
   3. The Lion and the Unicorn, the longest of the essays, described the state of the English culture and its challenge from the growing European Fascists. It is an excellent picture of the British before their moment of truth. "It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and the silly.... A family with the wrong members in control." " A nation trained to think hedonistically cannot survive amid peoples who work like slaves and breed like rabbits, and whose chief national industry is war." Orwell's solution is democratic socialism; more acceptable in its day, less convincing 50- years later with the hindsight of many failures in socialism.
   
   These essays are valuable to students of writing and to those who want to know more about the background of a great modern writer known for the classics Animal Farm and 1984.



4. This book provides a good overview of who Orwell is, in terms of both a writer and a man, in his own words. He explains why he writes, his political views and the imporance he subscribes to political writing. If you are looking to fulfill your curiosity with respect to the above no other book does it better. The only weak spot of the book (why I give it 4 instead of 5 stars) is that it has references to many historical events/facts that, unless you are a student of history (particulary Orwell's times) are not common knowledge. The editors should have placed more footnotes to assist non-students of history. If you are very knowledgeable of the history of the times, however, it should be a five star book for you.



5. 1984 is my most favorite book out of anything I have ever read. After learning about this book I bought it immediately, I'm a writer and I thought i would learn a lot from this authors book.
   
   I was greatly disapointed. I wish i could say i wasn't, because I love him SO much, and I read the first page reviews of it and thought it would be awesome. i was expecting a book about george orwell, about how he came to write, why he wrote and maybe tips or something, but the first four or five pages speak of writing, and that's about it. After that, the entire book is very long and honestly quite boring, all he talks about is politics and war and "england this, england that, england people are unified, and they do this..." and i was like... where's the writing?
   
   I'm not saying you might not like it, im just saying that you might only like it if your interested in war and england and politics. And england, of course.
   But if your a writer and your expecting a book all about writing, im seriuos, you might as well just read the first page reviews and that's it.
   :/ i wish i could give it more stars.

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

1. This is a clever and masterful book. The author demolishes the new fashional nonsense about rhyme being creatively passe. Rhyme is not necessarily restrictive or formulaic. It can still be powerful, enjoyable and richly expressive.



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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



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

1. Gornick's approach to the subject and her analysis of personal narrative = priceless. A thoroughly engaging read for those who are exploring how to become stronger writers of essays and/or memoirs. Highly recommended.



2. Vivian Gornick never disappoints me. Her intellegence and insights abound and this is a particularly stimulating and revealing book.



3. No fault of amazon or author.



4. The Situation and the Story although easy to follow is a tough read. Gornick's book tells how to read memoirs as well as how to write them. She strives for the highest standards and lays great responsiblity on the wrier's shoulders. Beyond just relating a good story that happens to be true, Gornick expects the writer to impart wisdomto the reader gained by the writerfrom the act of writing the memoir. If the writer didn't gain wisdom, t she probably shouldn't write the memoir.
   For serious memoirist the book is a must read, and reread, and reread.



5. 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.

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

1. An illuminating volume to have on hand as you read the Patrick O'Brian Series. Provides back story and details of those times, along with maps and diagrams. Nauticle terminanolgy decoded. Highly reccomend, could only wish for more diagrams.



2. I bought the Patrick O'Brian anthology as a Christmas present for my husband. He has always been intrigued by the Navy and the Tall Ships and the history they played when our nation was formed. I think he vicariously sees himself as C.S. Forester's 'Horatio Hornblower'. I guess this could explain why he likes to do dishes, laundry or anything else that involves using water. He is a former Navy submariner(1957) and, me thinks, a person has to be daft or have an absolute affinity for any body of water no matter how great or how deep. In consideration of the enormity of this collection, I doubt that I will see my husband for several months as he will have his nose into these books...and enjoy riding the high seas once again.



3. It is clearly too ambitious a project to explain, in a 500-page trade paperback, every potentially confusing term and name in the Aubrey / Maturin series. But I expected a better effort than this.
   
   The introductory essays on the on the nature and structure of the British navy and time line of the Napoleonic wars was quite good; the narrative on naval medicine not so much, but passable still.
   
   The real issue is lack of content in the encyclopedic portion of the book. Simply put, you'll run across quite a few terms in any given Aubrey / Maturin novel that simply are not in this book.
   
   Examples from "The Far Side Of The World" alone, as I quickly breeze through, of words and terms mentioned there but not here: "bar-tailed godwit" (kind of bird); "shamming Abraham" (pretending to be sick, or being a thief, beggar, etc.); "St Abdon's day (Saint Abdon, a cooper, is the patron saint of coopers); "specktioneer" (on a whaler, the lead harpooner).
   
   Again, given the scope and nature of the Aubrey / Maturin series, it's beyond naive to expect any one reference book to answer every potential question the series might raise. But, at the least, all sailing terms should be explained without fail, as well as period-specific euphemisms.
   
   Given that about 85 percent of this book is encyclopedia, I really have to hold that out as the defining standard of its worth. Simply put, it fails.
   
   There are several Web-based documentation efforts for the Aubrey / Maturin series: A wiki (unforutunately, it's on a slow, unreliable Web server, which is why it's largely incomplete); a Google Earth project to point out all the places named in the series; and a hit-or-miss links page, all of which can be found at Wikipedia's Patrick O'Brian page.
   
   It seems to me that new technologies provide the best way to document O'Brian's stories of old.



4. Without a good sea jargon dictionary the reader will loose the essence of rolling along with any sailing author. I keep at hand when roving with Lewrie and Aubrey on the briny.



5. 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.

5 comments about Arcadia: A Play.

1. Arcadia dually covers a historical event turgid with substance and contemporary historians who would wish to piecemeal it back together into the whole that it was. In reading it, we find that something is lost and regained. The emotional content of the past, in its particularity, is lost, but it remains the subject of, and emerges around, the heat of the present; the gaps are filled in, old controversies become renewed, and old ideas are reborn in contemporary counterparts. In that sense, Arcadia is a masterwork. Stoppard goes so far as to craft an extraordinarily well-written drama out of platonic and romantic ideas that are so banal and intellectualy innocuous simply because they, themselves, have long since passed their due.
   
   I believe that Stoppard writes very well, and Arcadia is another exemplification of that fact, but I can't believe that anyone will be reading him in fifty years. His modern acclaim can only be a testament to his reaffication of already accepted modes of dramatic structure and content. He is simply the prophet of our dramatic yesterday.



2. This funny play about important things takes place in a single room, but shuttles between 1809 and 1989, ending with the two sets of characters, together but mutually invisible, revealing to us a sweet sadness.



3. Though I am very fond of "The Invention of Love," "Jumpers, " "The Real Thing," "The Real Inspector Hound," and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, " this is Stoppard's best play, his most beautiful and most moving. We get the usual Stoppard erudition and the usual Stoppard wit, but these never distract us from the play's structural felicities. Or its emotional force.
   
   Idea-wise, we get order and creation versus chaos and entropy. Something not quite explicable about the arrow of time makes the tea always get colder, never hotter, and the same fate (heat death) awaits the universe and every person in it. Strangely, though, in this seemingly random, ever chillier place we find unexpected beauties, the unexpected "islands of order" that can also be found in Thomasina's equations as surely as they can in Tom S.'s imagination.
   
   The real punch of the play, though, is in the immediate rather than the cosmic. Whether we know about entropy or not, we *have* noticed that things go awry and that eventually we will, too. Even if we are lucky enough to find ourselves in Arcadia, we're still going to die. Even worse, some people are going to die before us, leaving us utterly alone. On the other hand--the pretty hand--"Arcadia" suggests that the fact that neither art nor memory need follow the arrow of time might just offer some sort of escape from futility and grief. Time can overlap with time, as love can overlap with love. Two people can synchronize in time and space in a most uncanny way, and what is this but love or dancing?



4. Very witty, very thought provoking, myriads of possible meanings and themes, the stuff the literary departments of colleges and universities worldwide base their livelihoods on -- and Stoppard gave it all the middle finger. I was a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania in '95-'96 when Tom Stoppard graciously attended a small discussion group with 20 or so engineering students, headed by a professor from the literature department. The subject was "Arcadia," his recent 1993 masterpiece about the pursuit of science, math, and ribaled sexual escapades. The presenting faculty member was laying on question after question about the hidden meanings and whether this or that was the true intent behind his wordsmithing wizadry. I'll never forget his appearance. Messy mane of gray hair, tall and skinny, the lackadaisical expression on his face, slumped back in his chair arms and legs crossed -- he just couldn't care less. He'd give very curt replies to the effect of "that's your interpretation, make of it what you will." He was extremely uninterested in being drawn in to the microscopic dissection of his work. This went on for a painful half-hour or so. He just seemed so sick of people trying to analyze every syllable, instead of just enjoying his plays as the fanciful, thought-provoking diversions that they were. I certainly enjoyed it. Thank you, Stoppard, for putting "art" in its rightful place.



5. Tom Stoppard is a genius. Math and love and English gardens and waltzing and the river of time.