I'm back in the classroom. Predictably, this causes me to have all kinds of ideas about work all the time, but now I have no time to write them down. However, I'm giving a paper on Alice Oswald in 3 weeks, which is serving to focus my attention marvellously.
I have 18 death scenes and about the same number of similes to get through before I've finished the Homeric footnotes. Arguably I would be better off skipping finishing that until later and just get on with writing the paper on the part I've already done. But I'd like to feel as if I've got a firm handle on something, and how long can it take me to - yes, I know, months - however, I don't have months. So I've got to the yellow zone in the bar graph, where I still think it's possible to do all the things, if I just do them really fast.
Am also reading a book on "Stylish Academic Writing", by Helen Sword. It is unpleasant to suspect that the result of my work will be articles that I wouldn't want to read myself. I would like to write what I would enjoy reading if I happened on it. Helen Sword's book gives me a modest sort of hope that this is actually attainable. So thank you, HW.
So: Pedasus. Oswald tells the story of his death pretty much from the horse's-eye point of view; first he was fed by one group, that had stone mangers; then by another group, that had bags of grain; then he died. The entire battle scene and the other two horses are missing. I think they are recuperated (according to Helen Sword I should not be using that word here in this sense, because nobody will understand it and I'm just trying to impress people by talking fancy) by the simile, however. Oswald uses the "fig juice curdling milk" simile here. Homer uses it at the end of book 5, where Apollo uses φάρμακα to heal Ares' wound, as fast as fig juice curdles milk. Oswald uses it to refer to the speed of Pedasus' death; his blood, I suppose, coagulating in death, he turning from animate to a solid lump, at the same speed. But the interesting thing is (of course) that Ares is immortal, as Homer points out; and Pedasus' two companion horses are also immortal. If the spear had got one of them, they could have been healed, as fast as Ares. Bad luck, Pedasus.
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