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Why is the king 'baffled' in "Hallelujah"?
At the end of the first verse of "Hallelujah"...
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
I take it the king is referring to David, who was named earlier. But why is he…
Mithical
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Contrasting depictions of Asians in Tintin
In The Blue Lotus, Tintin talks to Chang about various 'silly' stereotypes held by Westerners.
The story is pretty thoughtful in its representation of Asians.
But in earlier adventures, Herge drew his Asians very differently, like here in Tintin…
CDR
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Why does Morpheus look like Neil Gaiman?
I'm probably revealing my ignorance about The Sandman and comic books here. Why does Morpheus look like the writer who created him, Neil Gaiman?
On the left - younger Neil Gaiman (src); on the right - Morpheus from Preludes and Nocturnes
Is this…
user111
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votes
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Do all old stars get their own private island and a magical buffet table?
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the crew of the Dawn Treader lands on the island of Ramandu, who is a retired star1.
"I am a star at rest, my daughter," answered Ramandu. "When I set for the last time, decrepit and old beyond all that you can…
Mithical
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Are quotes from a character technically quotes from the author?
I was recently browsing for some quotes from a few of my favorite authors, and I noticed that in all the lists of "Top Quotes by..." were quotes from characters within the story.
I understand that yes, of course, the author came up with and…
Skooba
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Meaning of Pratchett's quote about coffee from "Thud!"
Terry Pratchett wrote in Thud!:
Coffee was only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to your slightly older self.
I am struggling to understand the meaning of it. Is it pro/contra coffee, nothing of that sort?
Daraan
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Limerick involves a pregnant Scottish woman and anagrams
Somewhere in the 1993-2000 time period, I had a hardback book of various linguistic oddities, I think with a red slip cover with white lettering. One of the items included was a limerick along the lines of the following:
A young Scottish girl in…
Sean Duggan
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Children's book with "a ring, a stone, a finger bone"
I'm trying to find a fantasy book from my childhood library, about 45 years ago. I distinctly remember a quote from it,
a ring, a stone, a finger bone
describing three talismanic objects. There was mention of spells being "the crucible that held…
2shortguy
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How does soap undermine the church in "A Connecticut Yankee"?
In Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, in the chapter "Morgan Le Fay", the main character explains that he makes the knights have signs for "Persimmon's Soap" on their tabards. And he says,
Secondly, these missionaries would…
Mahesh Bansod
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Story about a man who bets his head but not his neck with the devil
I remember a story about a man who bets "his head" with the devil and loses. I do not remember what the wager actually was. The devil is ready to chop the man's head off with an axe, but the man says he bet his head and not his neck, so the devil…
polm23
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Is there any textual evidence that this death in Deathly Hallows symbolized the end of childhood?
In the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we see that Hedwig is killed by the Avada Kedavra curse.
"No - HEDWIG!"
The broomstick spun to earth, but he just managed to seize the strap of his rucksack and the top of the cage as the…
Mithical
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Was Théoden's revival inspired by Mark Twain?
I was reading Mark Twain's Joan of Arc and Joan converses with the Dauphin of France.
The talk between Joan and the King was long and earnest [...] and has been set down in [...] testimony at the Process of Rehabilitation; for all knew it was big…
Lianne Caranthir
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How much weight should we give authors' declarations of their intent after the fact?
Very closely related: How much weight is given to authors' intentions in literary analysis?
Related (as an example of what I'm talking about): Is there any textual evidence to support that Dumbledore was gay?
Loosely related: Should Go Set a…
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine
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In which version of "Snow White" is her name really "Lips Red as Blood, Hair Black as Ebony, Skin White as Snow"?
Is there a version of Snow White where her name is a longer description?
TVTropes says:
Snow White. Her real name is "Lips Red as Blood, Hair Black as Ebony, Skin White as Snow" based on the wish her mother made. Everyone just calls her Snow White…
Malady
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What are these pink papers with book text written on them?
I purchased this book online and upon reading it I discovered that one page contains two pink papers with the text of the book printed on top of them.
On the papers is also printed the text:
Ref:M100 202X
Might it be that this copy was…
Cory Klein
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