Don Marquis

[Nightshade]

Im not sure this deserves a whole thread on its own but I couldnt see another thread to stuff it in so I came across somthing I had by him ( turns out to be an extract from Mehitebel has an adventure from Archy and mehitabel) when I was looking for somthing for optimistics thread on representation of women. Anyway I eventually got my hands on a book and Im pretty much hooked.
I do have a few questions though what does toujours gai and vers libre mean?
And has anyone else read any of his poems. And is there any way of getting them in the original dates and semi in context with the newspaper.

Also I was wondering what is the name of that thing where they give animals human characteristics like in Aesops fables or Animal farm?
Thanks
:D:D

[mir]

vers libre ahould be book verse - libre is certainly book in latin, is it vers or versus? veris is truth. and personification is giving object or non-human things human characteristics. sorry i haven't read Don Marquis . . .

[Logos]

a form of personification -- anthropomorphism :)

"attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena."

For example, people who talk to their cats like they're small children :lol:

[antiquary]

In French toujours gai means 'always gay (happy, light-hearted)', and vers libre means 'free verse'. 'Book' is livre in French and liber in Latin.

[mir]

For example, people who talk to their cats like they're small children :lol:

hmm. let's see. cute, likes to wash self (or at least feet) with tongue, speaks in inanimate monosyllables . . . yep, no similarity whatsoever. :D

[Nightshade]

Thanks everyone :D anthropomorphism-- have to rember that one :D

[vfranz]

"Toujours gai" in Mehitabel's context doesn't simply mean "always happy".

"Toujours gai" can equally mean "still happy/cheerful".

Wouldn't life be tedious if one word in one language always had a direct equivalent in another?

[Chris Weimer]

"Toujours gai" in Mehitabel's context doesn't simply mean "always happy".

"Toujours gai" can equally mean "still happy/cheerful".

Wouldn't life be tedious if one word in one language always had a direct equivalent in another?
It'd make my job a lot easier for sure!