The Lines of Literature Paraphrase Challenge

"Bravo! An excellent satire on modern language." ~Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey

 When we are told to be creative, we usually try to be clever or original, do we not? Well, for this challenge, being creative will mean quite the opposite.

The Lines of Literature Paraphrase Challenge
What?
Lines of Literature: Quotes from classic literature - it could be a sentence or even a paragraph - and preferably well-known ones (anything Jane Austen is well-known in my book, just to let you know).
Paraphrasing: To take the original line and, well, dumb it down. Make it dull. Uninteresting. But very understandable. Something easy to read, something that today's society would understand. So, basically reading it and rewording it as if you were trying to explain it to a child or just a non-wordy person. Making it sound modern is also acceptable as well as amusing. The meaning of the line must remain the same, however.

Why?
Why the challenge? Because the purposefully uninteresting can, in fact, be quite amusing. And it is fun to satire modern language.

Here is my example.
Original line: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." (Famous opening line of Pride and Prejudice)
My paraphrase: "Everyone knows that a single rich guy needs a wife."

Well, I do hope that made you giggle. Because that is the general idea. (Right, Miss Dashwood?)
"It is a truth universally acknowledged" shortened simply to "Everyone knows"; "in possession of a good fortune" changes to "rich"; "in want of" would be something like "needs" in today's language, and I changed "man" to "guy" just for the fun of it.

Where is all this going? Well, that depends on you, my dear readers. If I get enough entries, I might have people vote for the best and have the top five winners or something like that; if I get more than enough, I'll enlist some help from various sources to select a number of entries and have the contest-type thing I just mentioned. If I don't get that many, I will simply have another post displaying the fine work of those who participate and congratulate them on their excellent satire of modern language. If nobody takes on the challenge... well then, I shall be rather sad, and will have to satisfy myself by continuing to giggle at my own jokes.

How?
The rules: Up to five quotes per challenge-taker. Leave your entries in a comment with the original quote, book it's from, and the book's author. I won't publish your comments, so that way no one can copy you. ;-)

When?
Well, it begins the moment I publish this post, and I will continue to accept entries until Wednesday, March 7th, 2012.

Now.
Do you like this idea? Plan to participate? You could always spread the word a little... *hint hint*

I'm looking forward to finding out what will come of this!  

Period Drama Advice Event--Letter 1

After I read the first letter for the Period Drama Advice Event, I hurriedly typed down a response that popped into my head but somehow I lost the document. So at the last minute here I re-scribbled something. I figured I might as well post it as not.

Original letter:
Dear Period Drama Advice Column,
I am the governess at Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr. Rochester. When I first met him, he seemed to be very harsh, eccentric, and unconventional, but I now find myself falling in love with him. He has been the only person who I could talk to as an equal. I had not intended to love him: I tried to fight it. He made me love him without looking at me, but he is to be shortly married to a Miss Ingram, a beautiful but subconscious person. I cannot help but love him. I've said that my pupil, Adele, should go to school and that I should seek a new situation, but I cannot bear to leave Thornfield: I have not been trampled on there; I have not been petrified; I have not been buried with inferior minds, and excluded from every glimpse of communion with what is bright and energetic and high. What shall I do?
Sincerely,
Jane Eyre


My response (from Lydia Bennet):

Dear Miss Eyre,

La! What a ridiculous letter you have written! At first I was sure you were joking but you sounded so very serious, I knew I must write to you. Your real problem is that you have had an incredibly dull life so far. Why on earth would anyone want to be a governess? Never mind, I don’t want to know. And as for Mr. what’s-his-name, he must not be worth a straw and sounds terribly boring anyways.

Come and meet me in Brighton, and I can introduce you to all sorts of people who will not "trample" on you, and there are scores of handsome officers who will carry your mind far away from Mr…what was it… Rochester. La, what a name! Rochester! It makes me laugh!

Yours truly,

Miss Lydia Bennet
---------

By the way, I'd appreciate it if you vote on the new poll on my sidebar. (The new poll is the top one.)

Announcing a New Blog (100th post!)

Guess what, everybody? A new blog!



The Assembly Rooms (http://assembly-rooms.blogspot.com) is a place where you can find information about characters from period dramas and classic literature. In the last heroine tournament at Elegance of Fashion, some of you may have read the character profiles written by Miss Elizabeth, Miss Laurie, Charity U, and me. Well, this blog is made up of profiles like those, except much more complex and informative. 
The blog is run by Miss Elizabeth, and Miss Laurie, Miss Dashwood, and myself are also authors. We write profiles and help out with whatever. I encourage you to take a look! And keep it in mind as a great place to look for any information about a particular character, including photos: 5 from each film adaptation, and links to Photobucket albums for the characters as well. 
So far we have 10 profiles, and have plans for many more, including villains and minor characters. I know that Miss Elizabeth has a few things that readers can participate in up her sleeve, so be on the lookout! 
I'm very excited about this blog! Thank you so much for including me as an author, Miss Elizabeth! It has been a delightful experience, and I think it will continue to be.
Oh yes--this is my 100th post!!

A Valentine Post

The thought of doing a Valentine's Day post didn't even occur to me before, but I was planning on watching my favorite romantic scenes from Emma (2009) and Pride and Prejudice (1995) to mark the day and decided to e-mail them to a friend as well (who, if she is reading this, will probably go "heehee!"). Then I thought I might as well stick the scenes in a post for your enjoyment too! And after that you will find another Valentine's Day bit as well.

And now that I've said all that boring stuff, I shall proceed. 

Scenes from Emma. I love the proposal scene, but I'm limiting myself to two scenes from each movie.

This might be my favorite scene in any Jane Austen movie... (I'd start at 1:25)

{video has been removed}

Note: mentally add in the "Brother and sister? No, indeed." quote and it's perfect.

Now for the beautiful ending! I intend for you to start at 7:30.

{video has been removed}

Now for P&P. I love the second proposal scene, but the Pemberley scene is always so romantic (tehe), and the Wedding makes me feel happy. So those are the two I should include here.

But the videos are being troublesome and so I shall simply link to them.

The Pemberley Scene (4:30-7:31)

The Wedding (7:08-end; although the proposal scene is there too, if you want to watch it. hehe)

Am I the only one plagued by silly sighs and giggles after these scenes??

*clears throat loudly*

And now for something else. A dear friend of mine gave me a book called The Language of Flowers a few years ago for my birthday, which is absolutely gorgeous. For each flower there are beautiful old-fashioned pictures, poetry, and information. I thought it would be an interesting Valentine's Day activity to look and see which flowers mean or have something to do with love. 

Chrysanthemum: "I Love"

Specifically, that is what red chrysanthemums mean. Yellow means "slighted love" and white means "truth".

(When I think about the word 'chrysanthemum', I hear Anne Shirley in my head: "c-h-r-y-s-a-n-t-h-E *piercing and proud look at Gilbert*-m-u-m.")

Forget-me-not: "True Love"

I've always thought forget-me-nots are quite romantic. Just look at the name. (But I must keep writing this post instead of thinking up some romantic story involving forget-me-nots...)

Lilac: "First Emotions of Love"

I do love the scent and color of lilacs. 

Rose: "Love" 

And here are some specifics:

White Rose - Purity and Spiritual Love

Yellow Rose - Decrease of Love and Infidelity (what's up with the yellow flowers?)

Cabbage Rose - Ambassador of Love

Musk Rose - Capricious Beauty

Single Rose - Simplicity 

Tulip: "Declaration of Love"

Although it is a red tulip that specifically means that.

Other meanings are: 

Variegated Tulip - Beautiful Eyes

Yellow Tulip - Hopeless Love

Here are some others with lovely meanings:

Bluebell - constancy

Camellia - perfected loveliness

Daisy - innocence

Honeysuckle - sweetness of disposition

Jasmine - grace and elegance

Lily - purity

Violet - modesty

Water Lily - purity of heart

(Though Lavender may be lovely, I do not recommend you give it to your beloved as it means "distrust". ha)

And these are only the ones I found in my book, which must, of course, be limited. (No scarlet pimpernels: sorry, fans.)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

A Charles Dickens giveaway at Old-Fashioned Charm

Miss Laurie is hosting another lovely giveaway in honor of Charles Dickens's birthday! There are three prizes in all: a Charles Dickens devotional, and two of the novels. I encourage you to take a look!!

Quote Game Answers

Well, folks, it's over! The Old-Fashioned Movie Quote Game is closed for guesses, and here are the answers.

Quote 1

"Believe me, I almost fainted! I thought they were going to break down the door and murder us all!"

~Fanny Thornton, North & South (2004) 

Quote 2

Jo: If I wasn’t going to be a writer, I’d go to New York and pursue the stage. Are you shocked?

Laurie: Very.

~Little Women (1994) 

Quote 3

"I think one must gamble. I mean, it’s all a gamble. Everything! Life."

~Gwendolen Harleth, Daniel Deronda (2002) 

Quote 4

Marianne Dashwood: When is a man to be safe from such wit, if age and infirmity do not protect him?

Mrs. Dashwood: “Infirmity”?

Elinor Dashwood: Do you call Col. Brandon infirm?

Mrs. D: If Col. Brandon is infirm, than I am at death’s door.

Elinor: It is a miracle your life has extended this far!

~Sense and Sensibility (1995) 

Quote 5

"But then, fashion never was your forte, was it?"

~Sir Percy Blakeney (spoken to Chauvelin), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) 

Quote 6

Sir Mulberry Hawk: You’re prettier when you’re in a passion.

Kate Nickleby: If my brother were here, he would be in a passion from which you would not soon recover!

~Nicholas Nickleby (2002) 

Quote 7

"Shelves in the closet! Happy thought indeed."

~Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice (1995) 

Quote 8

"I suppose in the end, it was a romantic way to perish. For a mouse."

~Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables (1985)

Quote 9

Mr. Rochester: Do you doubt me?

Jane Eyre: Entirely.

Rochester: You have no faith in me?

Jane: Not a whit!

~Jane Eyre (1983, but there are similar quotes in other versions)

Quote 10

"‘Knightley’, indeed. Never seen him in her life, and she calls him ‘Knightley’! Insufferable woman! Horrible, upstart, vulgar being with her ‘Mr. E’ and her ‘caro sposo’ and her carriages and air of pert pretentions and underbred finery. Actually to discover that Mr. Knightley is a gentleman, and that the woman who brought me up should be ladylike! I’ve never met her equal!

‘Knightley’, indeed! I’ve known him all my life, and even I don’t call him that! "

~Emma Woodhouse, Emma (2009) (I love that scene...)

Quote 11

Barbara Spooner: If we had met in other circumstances, I would have told you how deeply I admire your tireless efforts to force our ridiculous parliament to abolish the slave trade.

William Wilbeforce: Well if you had, I would have changed the subject and talked about botany.

BS: Botany? Why botany?

WW: Anything but politics.

BS: Well, I would have been bored by botany.

WW: So, even in other circumstances it would have been a disaster.

~Amazing Grace (2006)

Quote 12

Uriah Heep: I’m merely a clerk, at present. I’m well aware that I am the ‘umblest person going. My mother is, likewise, a very ‘umble person, and my father’s formal calling was ‘umble. He was a grave-digger.

David Copperfield: And what is he now?

Uriah: He’s partaking of glory at present.

~David Copperfield (1999)

Quote 13

Mr. Ribaldi (or Rigoletto): What is it you would like to sing?

Bonnie: Do you know “I’ll Be Loving You Always”?

Mr R: (Smirks and mimics) “I’ll Be Loving You Always.” (plays piano introduction)

Bonnie: (singing) #I'll be loving you, always...#

Mr R: (laughs and stops playing the piano)

Bonnie: What’s the matter?

Mr R: (still laughing) You sing like a goat!

~Rigoletto (1993)

Quote 14

Miss Minchin: And don’t sulk, it is not at all becoming.

Sara Crewe: I wasn’t sulking.

Miss Minchin: You were looking cross, which is much the same thing.  

~A Little Princess (1986)

Quote 15

"A.J.": Sorry for calling you a geek today.

Frank: That’s okay. What’s a “geek,” anyway?

A.J.: It’s hard to explain. But when you see one, you’ll know.

~Split Infinity (1992) (It's a time travel movie, by the way.)

Quote 16

"People say that he sold his soul to the devil, but if he has I don't know what he done with the money!"

~Mr. Krook, Bleak House (2005)

Quote 17

"'Papa' is a preferable form of address. 'Father' is rather vulgar. Besides, the word 'Papa' gives a pretty form to the lips. 'Papa', 'potatoes', 'poultry', 'prunes', and 'prism' are all very good words for the lips. Especially 'prunes' and 'prism'."

~Mrs. General, Little Dorrit (2008)

Quote 18

"Do you know what I think was a strange thing, how both you boys picked out girls below you in rank and family, yet neither of you set your fancies on little Molly Gibson. Now there's a lassie who's found her way into my heart."

~Squire Hamley, Wives and Daughters (1999)

Quote 19

Captain Harville: It is bad for him, I know, to be shut up as he is; yet what can we do?

Anne Elliot: Well, he is young. And time is a great healer. Or so, at least, I am told.

~Persuasion (2007)

Quote 20

"Now turn around. Stand still." (tugs at braided & pinned up hair) "Good. These are all real, at any rate. I can't bear false hair on a girl."

~Miss Stanbury, He Knew He Was Right (2004)

Quote 21

"Thank you Gus. Beneath your vagabond clothing beats the heart of a gentleman."

~Felicity King, Road to Avonlea (Season 2, episode 2)

Quote 22

"There are some girls who do not feel complete unless they marry. I was never one of those, but I think my sister is."

~Augusta Tomkinson, Cranford (2007)

Here are the scores of everyone who played:

(55 points possible)

Miss Laurie: 55

Bethany: 38

Miss Dashwood: 32

The Well Dressed Doll: 24

Sarah: 18

Lauren: 13

Johanna: 10

JemimahD :-), 10

Charity U: 8

Thank you! I'm so glad you played!

I forgot to put one of the quotes I was going to do; which means I should do this again, do you think? ;-)