Silent Photoplay Forum

donnie wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 03, 2018 10:04 pm

Kitty wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:56 pm

Um? What a charming bedtime story.

Wow, what grisly little ditty. Wherever did you dig that one up?

I think I found that one on Twitter.

A detail I noticed: All the couplets are a perfect rhyme except for the last two lines. I know pronunciations change over time. I wonder if when that was written, "her" was pronounced something like "hair" to rhyme with "share"; or "share" was pronounced like "sure" to rhyme with "her".

I know that's sometimes how linguists figure out what pronunciations were like hundreds of years ago. For example, I remember learning that in the the England of the 1600's, "tea" was apparently pronounced like "tay" because of the way it was rhymed.

donnie wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 04, 2018 8:00 am

A detail I noticed: All the couplets are a perfect rhyme except for the last two lines. I know pronunciations change over time. I wonder if when that was written, "her" was pronounced something like "hair" to rhyme with "share"; or "share" was pronounced like "sure" to rhyme with "her".

For example, I remember learning that in the the England of the 1600's, "tea" was apparently pronounced like "tay" because of the way it was rhymed.

I thought that same thing, that the last two lines don't rhyme to us, but if you imagine the storyteller having a thick Irish or Scottish accent, it makes sense. The Irish say 'tay' for tea all the time, and I have heard them say 'hair' for 'her'.

Kitty wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:39 am

I thought that same thing, that the last two lines don't rhyme to us, but if you imagine the storyteller having a thick Irish or Scottish accent, it makes sense. The Irish say 'tay' for tea all the time, and I have heard them say 'hair' for 'her'.

Yes, you're right. I had an Irish violin teacher when I was in college, and I'm pretty sure he pronounced "her" that way.

I'm reading Riley's Love Lyrics, a poetry book full of love poems by James Whitcomb Riley. Some are so beautiful. I've read a few pages so far, and one specifically took my breath away. It's called The Passing of A Heart.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/internetpo ... eart-poem/

Kitty wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:24 pm

I'm reading Riley's Love Lyrics, a poetry book full of love poems by James Whitcomb Riley. Some are so beautiful. I've read a few pages so far, and one specifically took my breath away. It's called The Passing of A Heart.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/internetpo ... eart-poem/

Isn't that a poignant and moving poem!

donnie wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:56 pm

Kitty wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:24 pm

I'm reading Riley's Love Lyrics, a poetry book full of love poems by James Whitcomb Riley. Some are so beautiful. I've read a few pages so far, and one specifically took my breath away. It's called The Passing of A Heart.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/internetpo ... eart-poem/

Isn't that a poignant and moving poem!

I loved that. I think this one is going to have a nice review in the book reading thread

You can feel the passion in the lines