Father Inire as giant vegetable

Mo Holkar · 09 Nov 2011, 15:53 · from 2011-November.txt.gz

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From: lists at ukg.co.uk (Mo Holkar)
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:53:04 +0000
Subject: (urth) Father Inire as giant vegetable
In-Reply-To: <4EBA9A55.3020607 at irit.fr>
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	<81102A3297754C758B32676A61DCCCE7@Rover> <4EBA9A55.3020607 at irit.fr>
Message-ID: <563027.16779.qm at smtp820.mail.ird.yahoo.com>

At 15:20 09/11/2011, Sergei wrote:
>And there is a great hidden reference (of course!) to T.S. Eliot: 
>"You who were with me in the ships at Mylae! That corpse you planted 
>last year in your garden, Had it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this 
>year? Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed? Oh keep the Dog far 
>hence, that's friend to men, Or with his nails he'll dig it up 
>again!" Dorcas=disturbed corpse. Why the Dog has nails? It must be 
>Severian who is connected to Triskele (dog) and Triskele is 
>connected to aquastors, Malrubius, Inire - and Botanic Gardens - Sergei


I was thinking that this insight opens up Andrew Marvell's 'To His 
Coy Mistress' as a key to the BotNS, with its famous lines:
"My vegetable love should grow
Vaster then empires, and more slow."

Another couplet which Wolfe clearly drew upon:
"The grave's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace."

And it ends:
"Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run."

Excellent work, Gerry!

best,

Mo


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