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Epitaph Assignment Writing
Assignment #1
Assignment
-- Epitaphs ►
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“An epitaph (in Greek, literally "on the gravestone") is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that inscribed on their
tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial. An epitaph may be in verse; poets have been known to compose their own epitaphs prior to their death, as
W.B. Yeats did.
Most epitaphs are brief records of the family, and perhaps the career, of the deceased, often with an expression of love or respect - "beloved father of
..." - but others are more ambitious. From the Renaissance to the 19th century in Western culture, epitaphs for notable people became increasingly lengthy and pompous descriptions of their family origins, career, virtues and immediate family, often in
Latin. However, the Laudatio Turiae, the longest known Ancient Roman epitaph exceeds almost all of these at 180 lines; it celebrates the virtues of a wife, probably of a consul.
Some are quotes from holy texts, or aphorisms. An approach of many successful epitaphs is to 'speak' to the reader and warn them about their own mortality.
A wry trick of others is to request the reader to get off their resting place, as often it would require the reader to stand on the ground above the coffin to read the inscription. Some record achievements, (e.g. past politicians note the years of their
terms of office) but nearly all (excepting those including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where this is impossible) note name, year or date of birth and date of death. Many list family and their relation to them; such as Father / Mother / Son /
Daughter etc of.” (Wikipedia)
To see examples of epitaphs, old and new, go to the following link:
http://voicethread.com/#u81028.b186815.i991666
When the Virgin of Small Plain’s body was found, it was thought no one knew who she was. Her tombstone was simple and bore the epitaph Peace Be Unto You. What epitaphs could be given for the following characters in VOSP?
Judge Newquist
Nadine Newquist
Margie Reynolds
Dr. Quentin Reynolds
Sarah Francis
Marty Francis
Nathan Shellenberger
Assignment -- Writing Assignment #1 ►
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God from a machine in Virgin of Small Plains
“DEUS EX MACHINA (from Greek theos apo
mechanes): An unrealistic or unexpected intervention to rescue the protagonists or resolve the story's conflict. The term means "The god out of the machine," and it refers to stage machinery. A classical Greek actor, portraying one of the Greek gods
in a play, might be lowered out of the sky onto the stage and then use his divine powers to solve all the mortals' problems. The term is a negative one, and it often implies a lack of skill on the part of the writer.
In a modern example of deus ex machina, a writer might reach a climactic moment in which a band of pioneers were
attacked by bandits. A cavalry brigade's unexpected arrival to drive away the marauding bandits at the conclusion, with no previous hint of the cavalry's existence, would be a deus ex machina conclusion.
Such endings mean that heroes are unable to solve their own problems in a pleasing manner, and they must be "rescued" by the
writer himself through improbable means. In some genres, the deus ex machina ending is actually a positive and
expected trait. In various vitae, or Saint's Lives, divine intervention is one of the normal climactic moments of the narrative to bring about the rescue of a saint or to cause a mass conversion among conventional pagan characters.”
Wheeler’s Literary Terms and Definitions
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_D.html
The climactic car crash in Virgin of Small Plains, which delivers Catie from her pain and Judge Newquist from being charged with murder can be considered a deus ex machina resolution.
Write your perceptions of intervention, divine or otherwise in Virgin of Small Plains. |
