Neutering Exercise (Spring 2003)
Neutering Exercise (Spring 2003)
from "Ode: Intimatations of
Immortality"
"Christabel"
"The Sick Rose"
"The Lamb"
"All the World’s a
Stage"
Sonnet 116
from The Tragedy
of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
"Taking Aspirin"
"My Papa's Waltz"
"somewhere I have
never traveled gladly beyond"
"To Helen"
"But Were I Loved"
"Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening"
"I heard a fly buzz when I
died"
"Somewhere over the
Rainbow"
"Desperado"
"Come As You Are"
"I Hope You Dance"
"Eye of the Tiger"
"Lost"
"Wild Horses"
"Do not go gentle into
that good night"
William Wordsworth's
"Ode: Intimations of Immortality"
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;-
Turn wheresoe'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
NEUTERED VERSION:
Years earlier in my life, the meadow, grove, and stream
were things I found delight in.
To me,
they were mysterious,
they made me feel refreshed.
Now, those feelings are different-
Wherever I go,
Either night or day,
I can not feel the same about those things.
___
Ninth stanza of Samuel Coleridge's "Christabel"
Hush, beating heart of Christabel!
Jesu, Maria, shield her well!
She embraced her body beneath her cloak,
And stole to the other side of the oak.
What sees she there?
NEUTERED VERSION::
Christabel, you need to relax!
Jesus, Marie, keep her safe!
Christabel folds her arms inside her jacket, (demonstrates Christabel is cold)
And moved behind the oak tree. (as if to hide)
What does she see?
Save Address(es) Reply Reply All Forward Delete
--Laura Morrison
"The Sick Rose" by William Blake
Oh Rose, thou art sick! 1. Love has gone bad
The invisible worm 2. Jealousy
That flies in the night, 3. Something not seen at first
In the howling storm, 4. Rages in our emotions
Has found out thy bed 5. Someone gets jealous
Of crimson joy, 6. The Heart
And his dark secret love 7. Displays the ugliness of jealousy
Does thy life destroy. 8. Destroys love
--Betty Smalls
"The Lamb" by William Blake
1.Little Lamb, who made thee?
2.Dost thou know who made thee?
3.Gave thee life & bid thee feed,
4.By the stream & o'er the mead;
5.Gave thee clothing of delight,
6.Softest clothing wooly bright;
7.Gave thee such a tender voice,
8.Making all the vales rejoice!
9.Little Lamb who made thee?
10.Dost thos know who made thee?
11.Little lamb I'll tell thee,
12.Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
13.He is called by thy name,
14.For he calls himself a Lamb;
15.He is meek & he is mild,
16.He became a little child;
17.I a child & thou a lamb,
18.We are called by his name.
19.Little Lamb God bless thee.
20.Little Lamb God bless thee.
NEUTERED VERSION:
1.Who made you, little lamb?
2.Do you know who made you?
3.Gave you life and fed you,
4.By the stream and by the mead;
5.Gave you comfortable clothing,
6.The softest and most bright wool;
7.Gave you such a tender voice,
8.Making everyone else rejoice!
9.Who made you, little lamb?
10.Do you know who made you?
11.I will tell you, little lamb,
12.I will tell you, little lamb!
13.He is called the same name as you are,
14.He calls himself a lamb;
15.He is meek and he is mild,
16.He became a little child;
17.I am a child and you are a lamb,
18.We are called what he is called.
19.God bless you, little lamb.
20.God bless you, little lamb.
--Allison Johansen
"All the World’s a Stage" by William Shakespeare
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
NEUTERED VERSION:
The entire world is comprised of men and women who fill
insignificant roles.
Everyday people die and more are born,
And one man during his life goes through several changes,
Seven changes to be exact.
At first he is an infant, crying and puking in his caregiver’s arms.
Then a whining schoolchild, with his book bag and washed face, walking slowly to school
because he doesn’t want to go.
Then he will fall in love, sigh a lot, and make up sappy songs about things as stupid as
his crush’s eyebrow.
Then he will be a soldier, pledging strange allegiances, and growing a little beard,
Jealous, ready to fight, and seeking a reputation for boldness and daring, even at death.
And then a justice, with a big belly due to eating a lot of good chicken,
With a serious demeanor and a nicely trimmed beard,
Constantly quoting adages and current events;
He accomplishes his job requirement.
During his sixth change he will lose weight and start wearing soft pants,
Spectacles, and a fanny pack.
He carefully saves his old pants that are too big for him now,
And his formally baritone voice is now high-pitched, as it was in youth.
The final change, that will precede the end of his eventful life,
Will be just as his first. He will not comprehend much and be without teeth,
Eyesight, a sense of taste; basically, everything.
--Shannon Brinkley
Sonnet 116, by William Shakespeare
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
NEUTERED VERSION:
There exist no impediments in a
Relationship of true minds. True love is
That which does not change due to external
Circumstances; it will not simply cease
To be. No, true love is constant, fixed, and
Strong; it outlasts hard times and horrific
Situations. Also, in spite of the
Fact that true minds may recognize love, they
May never measure its value. Unlike
Beauty, which fades with time, love has no life
Span. True love does not change over time, but
Remains the same, even until the day
Of judgment. If I am proven wrong in
This matter, let it be said that I am
Not a poet, and love does not exist.
--Amber Dawn
---------
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Act I, Scene ii
Seems, madam! nay it is; I know not 'seems.'
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly: these indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play:
But I have that within which passeth show;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
NEUTERED VERSION:
Seems, madam! No, I do not seem to be
Grieving – I am. Mother, you see I wear
Black clothing, proper funeral attire.
You hear me sigh and see tears in my eye
And notice the sad expression on my
Face. All of this you see is indeed the
Behavior associated with grief,
But it alone does not reveal my true
Feelings. These actions may be performed by
Anyone (even you). The grief I hold
Inside proves these acts insignificant.
--Amber Dawn
Neutering Exercise (2003) continues here.