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Thread: Advice on "The Rainbow"

  1. #1
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    Question Advice on "The Rainbow"

    Hi Everybody
    I am new to the forum and am also new to the books of D H Lawrence.
    I am currently reading The Rainbow and find it fascinating and difficult. Fascinating because of Lawrence's beautiful uses of the language but also because it describes the area of England in which I live and even now I can identify with some of the places, attitudes and customs described.

    The text is, however, difficult in places and requires very close reading. I don't mind this as, to me, it is one of the main pleasures of reading a good author; to try and get inside their head and understand what they were thinking at the time of writing.

    However, I am completely stuck with one phrase in particular in The Rainbow.
    "there was the minted superscription of romance and honour and even religion about war". This is towards the end of Chapter 11. I think it means something like " unspoken" or "hidden" as in "hidden agenda".

    Has anybody any ideas please

    Thanking you in anticipation

    Mick(stalbansmick)

  2. #2
    Our wee Olympic swimmer Janine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stalbansmick View Post
    Hi Everybody
    I am new to the forum and am also new to the books of D H Lawrence.
    I am currently reading The Rainbow and find it fascinating and difficult. Fascinating because of Lawrence's beautiful uses of the language but also because it describes the area of England in which I live and even now I can identify with some of the places, attitudes and customs described.

    The text is, however, difficult in places and requires very close reading. I don't mind this as, to me, it is one of the main pleasures of reading a good author; to try and get inside their head and understand what they were thinking at the time of writing.

    However, I am completely stuck with one phrase in particular in The Rainbow.
    "there was the minted superscription of romance and honour and even religion about war". This is towards the end of Chapter 11. I think it means something like " unspoken" or "hidden" as in "hidden agenda".

    Has anybody any ideas please

    Thanking you in anticipation

    Mick(stalbansmick)
    Welcome Stalbansmick, I am a big Lawrence fan! His writing continues to enthrall me anew every book I read. I am currently reading his letters off and on and also I have read 3 full biographies. Let me suggest to you to read some biography, even short on the author. Wikepedia is pretty informative about Lawrence.
    I have read almost all his books at least once and some twice. The one book I found most difficult was the one you are reading, but it is a great book. Unfortunately it was years ago that I read it, and I don't recall as much about "The Rainbow" as some of his novels. My favorite one was "Women in Love".
    Unlike me, Virgil, adores this "The Rainbow", I think it is his Lawrence favorite. He, too, has studied Lawrence extensively and could better answer your specific question about the term "minted superscription" and any others you might have. Sometimes Lawrence will use terms over and over again, and they mean something quite specific to him.
    Virgil did his thesis on some important aspects of Lawrence's theories and thinking. I think your own theory as to what Lawrence means is close to what he means. "Minted" seems to mean here something that is established or set....pretty much the word speaks for itself and the word "superscription" means a thing written outside the writing. I don't really know if it means a 'hidden meaning' or 'hidden agenda' but that is an interesting thought. No doubt Virgil will notice your post and comment answer further and better than I have attempted.

    Just to let you know, if Lawrence's writing interests you, there is much going on now and next month on this site to do with D.H.Lawrence. The monthly book read for June is going to be one of the Lawrence books, the voting is still going on, if you care to join in and vote. Also, we have a short story thread presently in progress; we are now discussing the end of the third story, The Prussian Officer. Soon we will start a new story. Lawrence's short stories are marvelous and so interesting and they are each short and easily read in an evening. Would be nice to see you join in there, also. I am always trying to recruit people for this thread.
    "It's so mysterious, the land of tears."

    Chapter 7, The Little Prince ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  3. #3
    Vincit Qui Se Vincit Virgil's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stalbansmick View Post
    Hi Everybody
    I am new to the forum and am also new to the books of D H Lawrence.
    I am currently reading The Rainbow and find it fascinating and difficult. Fascinating because of Lawrence's beautiful uses of the language but also because it describes the area of England in which I live and even now I can identify with some of the places, attitudes and customs described.

    The text is, however, difficult in places and requires very close reading. I don't mind this as, to me, it is one of the main pleasures of reading a good author; to try and get inside their head and understand what they were thinking at the time of writing.

    However, I am completely stuck with one phrase in particular in The Rainbow.
    "there was the minted superscription of romance and honour and even religion about war". This is towards the end of Chapter 11. I think it means something like " unspoken" or "hidden" as in "hidden agenda".

    Has anybody any ideas please

    Thanking you in anticipation

    Mick(stalbansmick)
    Welcome Mick. I'll check out the quote you mention and get back to you.
    LET THERE BE LIGHT

    "Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena

    My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/

  4. #4
    Hello everyone!

    Wouldn't it just simply mean the association or rather the imposition of the notions of romance and honour and religion upon war?

    Anyway, I am new to the forum or new to posting in the forum. I was looking for a discussion thread on 'the Rainbow' but didn't find any, except this one. I just finished the book. And it is beautiful. I had just read his 'Women in Love' and 'Sons and Lovers' before and this one is as beautiful. I do not sometimes (or almost half the time) understand the deeper meanings behind his sentences but the intense beauty of his language keeps me holding on to his books. The beauty is something I feel, sense, in my blood, in my senses. In love with his words. So poignant, so acute, so passionate. Impossible to describe the effect he has on me. And this despite not understanding many of his concepts.

    Was hoping I would find a discussion thread on this particular book.

    By the way, could anyone please recommend any articles etc. that might further my understanding of his books and ideas?

  5. #5
    Our wee Olympic swimmer Janine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hira View Post
    Hello everyone!

    Wouldn't it just simply mean the association or rather the imposition of the notions of romance and honour and religion upon war?

    Anyway, I am new to the forum or new to posting in the forum. I was looking for a discussion thread on 'the Rainbow' but didn't find any, except this one. I just finished the book. And it is beautiful. I had just read his 'Women in Love' and 'Sons and Lovers' before and this one is as beautiful. I do not sometimes (or almost half the time) understand the deeper meanings behind his sentences but the intense beauty of his language keeps me holding on to his books. The beauty is something I feel, sense, in my blood, in my senses. In love with his words. So poignant, so acute, so passionate. Impossible to describe the effect he has on me. And this despite not understanding many of his concepts.
    Hello Hira, you have described Lawrence's writing beautifully and accurately in your last paragraph. Your first question is hard to answer, simply;and I don't have time today to get into all of that; but will try to later on. But as to Lawrence's fluid and lovely style of writing I feel much the same way you do and I can't put his books down very easily, either.

    Unfortunately, we don't currently have an active discussion on "The Rainbow". It is a shame you just missed out on our very good discussion on "Sons and Lovers" - you might want to check out that thread, to gather more insight and information on the book, and it's 'deeper' meanings. A few months back we also, discussed in much depth, "Women in Love". There are many, many posts on that novel in the thread and the thread has tons of commentary and good documented information.

    I, for one, am a total Lawrence addict and advocate. I have read nearly all he has written and still have a few books, I am planning soon. I did read "The Rainbow", but it was many years ago and much has escaped my memory; I plan a re-reading of that book soon, probably early next year. Perhaps we can get an active discussion group started in the spring on that book, as well. I know that another forum member, Virgil, loves that book the best; it is his favorite. "Women in Love" has always been my favorite. I have now read it twice and listened to the audiobook (half, so far)...so that will be my 3rd exposure to the novel. It is, in my eyes, Lawrence's masterpiece work. He thought so himself and said as much. The good news is, we are planning a spring reading of "Lady Chatterly's Lover", if you are interested in joining our group at that time. I know it will be a very good insightful group, because interest in Lawrence has been steadily growing on this forum. You can find some of this novels and his short stories and poetry, right here on the site.

    By the way, 'Welcome to Lit Net!' You will find this a great forum with very nice and helpful people. I have made many friends here and enjoy it so much, I can't begin to tell you. I have also learned a great deal more about Lawrence as a participant and in reading the various existing posts. There is a lot of biographical information in the three threads "Lawrence Short Stories", "Sons and Lovers" and "Women in Love" - it just takes a little time and searching.
    There is also a "Lawrence Baby Tortoise" thread that deals with his Tortoise poems - I think there were about 5 or 6. We will resume that thread eventually and the short story thread is on hold now for one month and will start again in January, after the holidays.

    Was hoping I would find a discussion thread on this particular book.

    By the way, could anyone please recommend any articles etc. that might further my understanding of his books and ideas?

    I seem to have answered these questins above.

    Hira, I hope all this information helps you and you can join our short story thread in January. I am sure you will like it very much. Lawrence wrote some of the best short stories in the English language and you will learn much more about the author this way; also it will introduce you to the other members who are interested in his works, as you and I are.

    How funny, Hira, I just noticed we have the same birthdate; different years. No wonder we both like Lawrence so!
    "It's so mysterious, the land of tears."

    Chapter 7, The Little Prince ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  6. #6
    Vincit Qui Se Vincit Virgil's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hira View Post
    Hello everyone!

    Wouldn't it just simply mean the association or rather the imposition of the notions of romance and honour and religion upon war?

    Anyway, I am new to the forum or new to posting in the forum. I was looking for a discussion thread on 'the Rainbow' but didn't find any, except this one. I just finished the book. And it is beautiful. I had just read his 'Women in Love' and 'Sons and Lovers' before and this one is as beautiful. I do not sometimes (or almost half the time) understand the deeper meanings behind his sentences but the intense beauty of his language keeps me holding on to his books. The beauty is something I feel, sense, in my blood, in my senses. In love with his words. So poignant, so acute, so passionate. Impossible to describe the effect he has on me. And this despite not understanding many of his concepts.

    Was hoping I would find a discussion thread on this particular book.

    By the way, could anyone please recommend any articles etc. that might further my understanding of his books and ideas?
    Hira, welcome and I hope you will stay with lit net and join our discussions on Lawrence. We are building quite a following of D.H. Lawrence fans here.
    LET THERE BE LIGHT

    "Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena

    My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/

  7. #7
    Hello Hira, you have described Lawrence's writing beautifully and accurately in your last paragraph. Your first question is hard to answer, simply;and I don't have time today to get into all of that; but will try to later on. But as to Lawrence's fluid and lovely style of writing I feel much the same way you do and I can't put his books down very easily, either.

    Unfortunately, we don't currently have an active discussion on "The Rainbow". It is a shame you just missed out on our very good discussion on "Sons and Lovers" - you might want to check out that thread, to gather more insight and information on the book, and it's 'deeper' meanings. A few months back we also, discussed in much depth, "Women in Love". There are many, many posts on that novel in the thread and the thread has tons of commentary and good documented information.

    I, for one, am a total Lawrence addict and advocate. I have read nearly all he has written and still have a few books, I am planning soon. I did read "The Rainbow", but it was many years ago and much has escaped my memory; I plan a re-reading of that book soon, probably early next year. Perhaps we can get an active discussion group started in the spring on that book, as well. I know that another forum member, Virgil, loves that book the best; it is his favorite. "Women in Love" has always been my favorite. I have now read it twice and listened to the audiobook (half, so far)...so that will be my 3rd exposure to the novel. It is, in my eyes, Lawrence's masterpiece work. He thought so himself and said as much. The good news is, we are planning a spring reading of "Lady Chatterly's Lover", if you are interested in joining our group at that time. I know it will be a very good insightful group, because interest in Lawrence has been steadily growing on this forum. You can find some of this novels and his short stories and poetry, right here on the site.

    By the way, 'Welcome to Lit Net!' You will find this a great forum with very nice and helpful people. I have made many friends here and enjoy it so much, I can't begin to tell you. I have also learned a great deal more about Lawrence as a participant and in reading the various existing posts. There is a lot of biographical information in the three threads "Lawrence Short Stories", "Sons and Lovers" and "Women in Love" - it just takes a little time and searching.
    There is also a "Lawrence Baby Tortoise" thread that deals with his Tortoise poems - I think there were about 5 or 6. We will resume that thread eventually and the short story thread is on hold now for one month and will start again in January, after the holidays.
    Janine - Thank you so much for the welcome. I am sure I am going to learn a lot from this forum if I am not too lazy that is. I'll check out the threads on 'Women in Love' and 'Sons and Lovers', it has been some time since I read those two. I loved 'Women in Love' when I read it. I plan to read it once more since I just finished 'the Rainbow' and because obviously I need many more readings to be able to truly appreciate it. Hope I can squeeze it in somewhere. Unless of course I decided to read 'the Rainbow' once more. I feel I like it more but thats maybe coz I just finished it.

    I haven't read any of his poems or short stories. I got this book the other day with four of his short novels:'The Fox', 'The Ladybird', 'The Captain's Doll' and 'Love among the Haystacks'. Have you read them? My semester is almost ending and I can't wait to really get into reading. I haven't read 'Lady Chatterly's Lover' and would love to join the group on it if I haven't got much study load at that time.

    Since I haven't read his poems where should I start with them? The Tortoise ones?

    How funny, Hira, I just noticed we have the same birthdate; different years. No wonder we both like Lawrence so!
    Wow, curious, yes.

    Hira, welcome and I hope you will stay with lit net and join our discussions on Lawrence. We are building quite a following of D.H. Lawrence fans here.
    Thank you so much Virgil, for the welcome. Its brilliant to see there are so many Lawrence discussions going on over here. So much insight!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hira View Post
    Janine - Thank you so much for the welcome. I am sure I am going to learn a lot from this forum if I am not too lazy that is. I'll check out the threads on 'Women in Love' and 'Sons and Lovers', it has been some time since I read those two. I loved 'Women in Love' when I read it. I plan to read it once more since I just finished 'the Rainbow' and because obviously I need many more readings to be able to truly appreciate it. Hope I can squeeze it in somewhere. Unless of course I decided to read 'the Rainbow' once more. I feel I like it more but thats maybe coz I just finished it.
    Hello Hira, I am so glad this helped you; I am sure you will learn a great deal about Lawrence from this forum and gain much insight into the author and other authors, as well.
    I actually, ended up reading both of the books a second time and I can tell you, you do get so much more out of the second reading. It is interesting that Lawrence, himself, said this about re-reading a book and how it is better to do so, than to read countless numbers of books, only once. I totally agree with this concept. I have found that even now, listening to the "Women in Love" CD's, I have gotten even more from the text and the story. I plan now to read "The Rainbow" again, as I indicated in my last post to you. I am sure I will understand it better, and acquire more from that reading, than I did when I first read it, when I was much younger and knew less about Lawrence's work. Appreciation does grow over time when one gets more exposure to the novel and text.


    I haven't read any of his poems or short stories. I got this book the other day with four of his short novels:'The Fox', 'The Ladybird', 'The Captain's Doll' and 'Love among the Haystacks'. Have you read them? My semester is almost ending and I can't wait to really get into reading. I haven't read 'Lady Chatterly's Lover' and would love to join the group on it if I haven't got much study load at that time.
    Actually, the stories you mention are really short novels or novellas. They are all wonderful in my estimate. I loved "Love Among the Haystacks" and plan to re-read that soon, along with "The Fox", which I also favor. I believe I read the other two you mentioned, but I don't clearly recall those, like I do the ones I just spoke of.
    Wonderful! If you can join in with the "Lady Chatterly's Lover" discussion group that would be great. Most likely, that will take place in the summer months, so I hope by then you have a lighter study load and can participate.

    Since I haven't read his poems where should I start with them? The Tortoise ones?
    I have the complete book of his poetry and that is very nice, but some think the 'Selected Poems' just as good to own. I think some of his poems are so wonderful and beautiful in imagery. Actually, on starting the 'Baby Tortoise' poetry thread, I had not realised how much was contained in those poems, in terms of complexity and symbolism; they made for a very interesting discussion. I think we had accomplished about 4 of the poems in that series, so far. We do need to revive that thread sometime soon. Those poems would be a good place to start or his early to mid poetry I think, is quite good.


    Thank you so much Virgil, for the welcome. Its brilliant to see there are so many Lawrence discussions going on over here. So much insight!
    Of course, Virgil, should answer this, but I will say that interest has really increased in the past year or so and continues to do so; now it is great to have a newcomer interested in Lawrence. Again, welcome to our Lawrence threads. I am sure you will enjoy them very much.

    If you check in the "Short Story" thread, you will see we have picked the next story - 'The Man Who Loved Islands'; then we had decided to postpone it until January. You might want to get started on reading it, or you might want to acquire the story ahead of time. Some of the stories can be found right here on the Lawrence main author page; or I believe as with this story, Virgil has posted a link to the online text. This can be very helpful when we are discussing and quoting lines and passages.

    Hope to see you soon in the Lawrence discussions!
    "It's so mysterious, the land of tears."

    Chapter 7, The Little Prince ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  9. #9
    Thank you Janine for so much help and advice and welcome! I just printed out the short story. Will read it while you guys take a break

  10. #10
    Our wee Olympic swimmer Janine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hira View Post
    Thank you Janine for so much help and advice and welcome! I just printed out the short story. Will read it while you guys take a break
    Hira, so glad you will be joining us in January.
    "It's so mysterious, the land of tears."

    Chapter 7, The Little Prince ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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    I adore The Rainbow

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