Saturday, July 03, 2010

The Lodger was a very nice story. I liked it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're hinting at a deeper meaning here, I can tell.

Maybe if I look at the HTML source...

Mike Taylor said...

For heaven's sake, Andrew, can't you ever just tell us what you mean instead of always cloaking it in all these complex layers?

Unknown said...

God, thank you for clearing that up. I've been reading your writing for seven or eight years now, and was just about to throw up my hands and give you up for totally impenetrable at the last post.

Andrew Rilstone said...

EXPOSITION:

THE TENTH BOOK OF RILSTONE, THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER.

The first section hath three verse. The Prophet declareth his theme: that the text he is about to describe is one that will divide peoples opinion.

In the first verse, the prophet admitteth that this text will contain cultural references that may be unclear to people outside the United Kingdom. He gives examples of words that have different meanings in England and America.

In the second verse, he continueth to talk about cultural differences, observing that even words which can be clearly understood at a purely lexical level may have cultural meanings which may be obscure to people from other cultures.

In the third verse he intends us to infer that the text he is about to discuss is "like Marmite", which he pointedly fails to define. Some readers think that he believes that the text his is discussing is "too salty" and "very hight in Vitamin B." But the consensus is that he believes that some people will like it very much, but some people will hate it.

The second section consists of but one verse. It is a digression, giving a second example of something divides opinion. He notes, citing historical sources, that seasons Twelve, Thirteen and Fourteen of Doctor Who radically divided the opinions of fans when they were first transmitted. He recalls an essay by a wise commentator who said that fans had to choose between the older programme and the new programme. When he writes "regret that staying etc etc etc" he intends us to infer "This quotation is so famous that it doesn't needed to be cited in full." He intends us to infer from the whole section that the current text will divide opinion in the same way that these older texts did.

The final section consists of eight verses. It contains many cultural references which it pointedly does not define. [3.1 Lord of the Rings 3.2 English children's TV 3.3 Madam Butterfly 3.4 W.B Yeats]

The first verse states again that there will be an dividing of opinion. The second verse proclaims the theme plainly: that, just as some people love marmite and some people hate marmite, so, verily, some people will hate the un-defined alien threat at the top of the stairs, and some people will love it.

The fourth verse gives another example of text which divide opinion. The Prophet says that he will not blame those whose choice in these matters is different from his own. When he declareth: "Opera is silly", the astute truth-seeker will smile, for he must knows that the Prophet himself does not think that opera is silly. He will infer a deeper meaning: that the prophet understands, and forgives, those who disagree with him. The verse says that you must accept the rules of the art form you are watching, and that to complain that Doctor Who contains too many plot devices is LIKE complaining that the opera contains "too much singing."

In the fifth verse, he notes that Doctor Who has changed its style many times in the past, and suggests that it will do so many times in the future. When he says "you must go forward in all your beliefs" in wants us to infer that the people who will stop watching Doctor Who because of this story will be LIKE Susan Foreman (who was the first companion to leave the TARDIS.) Like the Doctor, he hopes that they will be happy in their new home; but he implies that, like Susan, they will miss the TARDIS very much. There may be a hint that the people who will now stop watching Doctor Who have become too "grown up" in a negative sense, and perhaps that they need a jolly good smacked bottom.

......

Andrew Rilstone said...

....

In the final three verses, he declares plainly that the monster at the top of the stairs (which he is admitted to be a flawed plot element) is, in his opinion, peripheral and unimportant to the story. He asserts that the three main characters are central to the story.

He completes this chapters, which is to be understood as a chapter which is a prelude or introduction to a new theme, by asserting what he believes the theme of his text to have been: that the character "Craig" was an Everyman figure, and that the story was about "what would happen if Doctor Who came to MY house".

He ends with the mystical glyph "CONTINUES" which signifieth that he shall hath more to say on this subject, possibly when he hath finished his revieweth of the one set in Windsor safari park, for which he is being paideth money to writeth, or at any rate, when he getteth many tuits which are round.