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alternative history OR how the wooden horse never came to be



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Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:29 pm
Snoink says...



Her lips parted and
in Menelaus' ear
she whispered:
"We'll always have Paris."

She was promptly shot at dawn.
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

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Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:19 pm
Emerson says...



Took a wee bit of research on my part. [Menelaus]

I liked the play on the quote, "We'll always have Paris." You Bogart fan ;-)


It ended too abruptly, IMO, and it doesn't really "work" unless you read up on it. Even I don't remember that stuff, and I knew the story before I read it... It's just hard to recall the names.

Intriguing, none the less.

EDIT: I tend not to read titles, but I just did read yours. Actually, I read them, but I tend not to process them? I don't know, unlike some people, titles don't affect me until after I've read the whole thing, as with this. The title explains it, and it fits! Bravo *Clap*
Last edited by Emerson on Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:24 pm
Layleun says...



Well, like Clau said, it doesn't make sense to stupid people like myself. I don't get it, to me it just looks like a quote =( Lo siento
  





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Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:58 am
Kit says...



Oh come on, you guys don't know Hellen of Troy? And since when has classical allusions made a poem invalid, back in the day that's all the poetry people wrote. AD Hope's word drips with classical in jokes, and imagine a world without Sappho's lyrical take on these same legends.

I thought it was hilarious, Snoink, and brevity heightened your wit.
  





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Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:07 am
Skye says...



Snoink, you are my new hero. Fantastic! Well-thought out, and witty to perfection.

Perhaps for the title?

Alternative History: How the Wooden Horse Never Came to Be


Seems a little cleaner, no?

Nevertheless, I love this to pieces.
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Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:49 am
Poor Imp says...



Snoink wrote:Her lips parted and
in Menelaus' ear
she whispered:
"We'll always have Paris."

She was promptly shot at dawn.



Ha, Snoink. ^_^ 'Tis brevity and its soul is wit, yes? ^_~ I enjoyed it.


Only suggestion:
She was shot promptly at dawn.


It's such an abrupt end, I rather think it might be better for being more abrupt - which shifting the action ahead of the adverb would do, both in structure and meter... But then, it's lighter as you have it.

Whichever you like, in the end.





IMP
ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem

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Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:06 am
luna_the_shiekah says...



It took me a moment but I read the title and it hit me. "Troy!" I'm far too lazy to make research but I got the jist of it.

The Casablanca line is lovely, I do so love that movie. And the pun is a nice touch. Kudos Snoinkus!
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Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:12 am
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whence says...



This took me a bit of thought-- and I like that. I can't truly appreciate the Casablanca quote, never having seen the movie myself. However, the true wonder in this is its amazing freshness; its witty, and extremely potent. Poems this short normally can't stand up well, but you packed enough into each line to justify it completely. After that thinking period, I enjoyed this immensely. Many a kudo.
~Ed
The good parts of a book may be only something a writer is lucky enough to overhear or it may be the wreck of his whole damn life β€” and one is as good as the other.
Ernest Hemingway
  





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Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:04 pm
Rydia says...



I do wish it was a little longer but I like your abrupt tone and the surprise ending. I was expecting an alternative ending but not like that! Well written and effective so well done.
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Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:39 pm
sanguine_dreams says...



Ha, that is really clever. I should show this to my mom and dad; they're all about that stuff.
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Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:37 am
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Areida says...



Hahahaha, Snoink, you are the greatest. As Sam once said to me, your work "is so literally 'shut up'."

To repeat Imp, brevity truly is the soul of wit, and I am once again reminded that you have a wit I would kill for. I love Homer, I love Troy, I love Casablanca and Bogie and yes, my Snoinkus... I love you!

:mrgreen:
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Fri Jun 22, 2007 5:00 am
Meshugenah says...



'Rina, you are my hero. I envy your wit, and I want to steal it over burgers and chocolate shakes. Here's to it!

And puns make the world go 'round.

Amen.


(no, no actual crit, just praise)
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Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:40 pm
Shriek says...



i would suggest moving the "and" from the end of line one to the end of line two.

"Her lips parted
in Menelaus' ear and
she whispered:
"We'll always have Paris."

She was promptly shot at dawn."
i thought you were shallow, but then i fell in deep.
  





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Sat Jun 30, 2007 2:06 am
Leja says...



The adjective in the last line seemed a little out of place, as it's the only one hanging around. In something so short, it makes it seem almost word-y to me :D But then again, I kinda like it. It's the only word that you really don't need (other than "always", I suppose) so it seems to make itself and what's around it kinda special.

I like it.
  





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Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:24 am
Insomnia says...



Hey, Snoink. Good to see yws back up! :D Anyway, I just found this experimenting to see if portfolios worked. :o And they do! :D

I loved it, and oddly enough, I was reading stuff about this earlier. Yes, I am odd enough to have big books of that lol.

Everyone else was right: once you made the connection, it was hard not to laugh. :)

Anyway, I'd better go now. See you.
  








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