Word of the Day

       According to the Oxford English Dictionary, quiddity means "the inherent nature or essence of a person or thing; what makes a thing what it is." Example sentence: Chivalry is the quiddity of knighthood.

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         My Brit Lit professor required us to write a midterm essay over any medieval work from our reading list. I picked  "Le Roman de Tristran," Thomas of England's rendition of the story of Tristan and Isolde who are two ill-fated lovers in the days of King Arthur.  I figured that studying the chivalry and medieval hero aspect of it, as well as identity and the characterization of good and bad qualities, would be useful for writing Wynna.


If you're interested, here are excerpts from my paper: “The Code: Chivalry and Identity in Le Roman de Tristran” 

Small But Mighty: Book Review

     This is a blog about writing, not photography, so please don't notice the bad lighting or the tchotchke (definition of tchotchke here) surroundings. Please do notice the title of the book and the sticker on the cover: The Reading Promise. BARGAIN  BOOK $4.99. Actually, it was even more of a bargain, but I peeled off the big, red $1.00 sticker.

      The Reading Promise is by Alice Ozma. It is her autobiography and centers around the 1,000-night reading pact she made with her father, which ended up lasting 3,218 nights. He read to her every night for 9 years, from the time she was nine to the day she went off to college at eighteen. That kind of commitment puts a shadow over things I've neglected, like writing, and blog posting!
      Midterms and spring break kept me from posting the past two weeks, and I think that's understandable. But what made it easy was that sometimes I feel like my words fall into a cyberspace black hole. Today, though, I was reminded that people do take time out of their hectic schedules to pop in here at The Well.

     Whether you have read every post since I started or just the posts that grabbed your attention or you only look at the pictures or have only read the title of one post you are a Well-Wisher, and you give me power to write.

Thank you for visiting!

Free photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos.net

     Now, on to the book. Instead of the usual 5-star rating, pros and cons review, I am giving you my 4 favorite lines. I actually underlined them and dog-eared the pages, so I could go back to them. My before self would be horrified, but that's another story.

Which Jane?

    

The falling sleet and occasional thunder made for a good reading day (click here to share the experience). 

           Earlier today I read about Lady Jane Grey, the "nine days queen" who ascended the English throne at sixteen. It was the first sort of autobiographical literature this semester that really fascinated me! From her biographies and personal letters I gathered that, she...


...was well-educated 
"I found her in her chamber reading Phaedon Platonis in Greek, and that with as much delight as some gentleman would read a merry tale in Boccaccio." --excerpt from Roger Ascham's Schoolmaster
...was bold
In a letter rebuking her former tutor for renouncing his faith, "Why dost thou now show thyself most weak, when indeed thou oughtest to be most strong? The strength of a fort is unknown before the assault: but thou yieldest thy hold before any battery be made. O wretched and unhappy man, what art thou, but dust and ashes? and wilt thou resist thy maker that fashioned and framed thee?"
...cared about her family