View Full Version : Dumb river
princehamlet
07-15-2015, 12:34 AM
what means "dumb river" in the following sentence?
" Die! Die! and the dumb river shall receive your corse and wash it all unheeded to the see."
Dreamwoven
07-15-2015, 01:54 AM
It would help to have a bit more context. But I would suggest it implies that the river is unthinking and just carries the corpse to the sea.
Pompey Bum
07-15-2015, 08:23 AM
what means "dumb river" in the following sentence?
" Die! Die! and the dumb river shall receive your corse and wash it all unheeded to the see."
Dumb here means: silent; unable to speak. This is why the "corse" (corpse) will be washed "unheeded" to the sea. The river isn't going to tell anyone about it.
ennison
07-22-2015, 11:56 PM
This bit comes at the end of Wilde's attempt at Elizabethan revenge. Yes I agree with what is said above. Surely you can see the farcical side of that drama especially the end. It is dafter and funnier (accidentally) every time I think about it.
Makes me think of a line like "forget Bud White" followed by inspired bonking. I agree with what was posted elsewhere about Wilde's "achievement" here
Eiseabhal
07-23-2015, 05:47 AM
Bud White? Sounds neither Elizabethan nor Wildean
easy75
07-25-2015, 09:53 AM
Bud White? Sounds neither Elizabethan nor Wildean
Sounds more like James Ellroy to me...
ennison
08-06-2015, 04:40 AM
Well spotted Easy! Via L A Confidential - a much better text than Wilde's, even though it too is OTT
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.2 Copyright © 2026 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.