09:40 Oct 29, 2019 |
English language (monolingual) [PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature | |||||||
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| Selected response from: Tony Keily Local time: 12:50 | ||||||
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Summary of reference entries provided | |||
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Adjective |
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Discussion entries: 11 | |
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transitive verb Explanation: It is your second option, like to" sing the deeds of heroes". "to sing epithalium" = the noise that Saturn's rings make which is like an epithalium the sea-beast's dower = what they are singing about -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 hrs (2019-10-29 12:18:20 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Sorry, epithalamium |
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sing an epithalamium, with the sea beast serving as the dowry Explanation: This simply doesn't make grammatical sense. There's no way of finding out what the writer was trying to say, so I think you have to make an educated guess. If you insert a few words, as I've done, it makes more sense. An epithalamium is a hymn in praise of a bride and groom. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epithalamium |
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"sea-beast's dower" refers to a female character and is the indirect object of "sing" Explanation: The "sea-beast's dower" may be a character in the work. If not, in classical literature this might be a reference to Andromeda, who was to be sacrificed to a sea-monster but was saved by Perseus. In E.A. Watt's version of Oviid's Metamorphosis, the words "sea-beast" and "dower" are used close together in the lines narrating the episode. If this interpretation makes sense in terms of the story, "sea-beast's dower" refers to a female character and is therefore the indirect object of the compound verb "sing epithalamium". In other words, saturn's rings sing TO [sea-beast's dower=PERSON], although TO is elided, in the same way that in US English you can say "write X" where X is the indirect object (the direct object obviously being the latter). (It could even be that the author was echoing MarK Twain, who famously ended his A Double-Barrelled Detective Story with the line "far in the empty sky a solitary esophagus slept upon motionless wing; everywhere brooded stillness, serenity, and the peace of God." Twain was basically sending up ponderous endings, and its sounds as if the author has a smiliar sense of humour) Reference: http://https://books.google.it/books?id=TPcG23-KEkkC&pg=PA91... |
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Reference: Adjective Reference information: Apparently, according to the Collaborative International Dict. Of E. epithalamium used to be an adjective as well. If your author has classical training or similar... -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 11 hrs (2019-10-29 20:43:40 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Yep. Exactly. https://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/cide/60013/Epithalamium |
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