Some things that stuck

Probably the first thing that struck me about our anthology, Retellings, was the size of the damn thing. It's almost fifteen hundred pages long, and it's stuffed full of different stories from all around the world. It's pretty easy to see why a person could get intimidated trying to make sense of it all.

But, there's only one way to start, and that's from the beginning. I admit, I skipped a lot; some things just did not look interesting on face. I hope to get a chance to go back over them later, but for now they'll just have to remain content with being noticed but not read. I read Silko's "Yellow Woman" first, mostly because I had been impressed with her book Ceremony. I like her characterization in "Yellow Woman" and the use of implied sensuality between the narrator and her acquaintance. The allusions to Navajo mythology were subtle enough to be rewarding, but not so subtle as to relegate the work to academic snobbery either.

Probably the section that caught my eye the most was the eight chapter, "Monsters and Heroes". Probably the only common thread among the literature I tend to read is that they tend to involve great heroes who grapple with blackest evil--or become monsters themselves. The cycle on the "Modern Monster" was interesting. Part of what I enjoy about this class is the emphasis on retellings. After all, all stories have their archetype, and we retell the same archetypical stories again and again, each with a new face.

The Wandering Hero cycle also caught my attention. I had recently been listening to a rock opera adaptation of The Odyssey, which I had actually read since sophomore year of high school, so I figured it was worth looking into again. I can definitely tell I appreciated it more this time 'round. The translation we read of the Odyssey in high school could be damn dreadful at times; by contrast, the selection in this anthology was much clearer and more readable. Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses", I'm afraid, just doesn't quite match up well to the original, as inspired of a poet as he may have been.

The myriad of other tales and essays connected with The Odyssey were quite interesting. Odysseus is the archetypal prodigal hero, and his story has been retold in many ways over the millenia. I couldn't help but make the connection between Odysseus and the travails of the main characters in the re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica. Their space odyssey, with Commander Adama stubbornly resisting fate and soldiering to find (a new) home is so very Homeric, and I'm surprised I didn't make the connection until I began this assignment.

I admit I skipped over Shakespeare, but not because of any distaste. Believe me, I wanted to read more on him and the reflections of his work, but I've already been reading much of that recently so I didn't want to spoil it by reading it now. Neil Gaiman's graphic novel series The Sandman had several issues creating a new mythology around Shakespeare and the plays for which he is so famous, but having just brushed up on my Shakespeare, I felt my time could be better spent reading elsewhere.

If anything stood out about the section about love and friendship. 200 pages of a 1500 page anthology may seem long, but frankly, given how universal love and romance is in literature, I'm quite surprised that the section wasn't longer. The poem that stood out the most was Howard Moss's "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?" Seeing it in the table of contents, I immediately thought, "This must be a parody--I need to read this." I was not disappointed. Moss's plain, beige poetry contrasted nicely to Shakespeare's tempered, finely honed purple sonnet. In spite of its plainness, though, I couldn't help but feel that its unassuming simplicity made it seem more sincere, and well, maybe even more romantic than Shakespeare. It's like those stories where the Joe Everyguy competes for the affections of a girl with this sophisticated, Ken Doll perfect alpha stud. And though he's outclassed in everyway, Joe Everyguy still gets the girl in the end, and his hard work and sincerity pay off. It's that kind of story. Sorry Shakespeare, but but I'm going to root for the underdog.