Sunday, June 22, 2008

Virgil - The Aeneid

So, I am reading The Aeneid, and I was all the way up to page 15 when I read this about Venus, mother of Aeneas, who has transformed herself into a young woman. By the way, this is a sneaky thing to do, but what a neat way to check up on your wandering son...

She is running around, faster than Hebrus and has a handy bow hung around her shoulders. Her hair is a wretched mess in the disheveling wind. Listen to what happened to her dress: "Her flowing gown knotted and kirtled up."

I like that. Kirtled. Say it fast three times: kirtled, kirtled, kirtled.

That has happened to me before. I don't usually run around with a handy hunting bow around my neck, but my skirt has been kirtled because of the wind.

I just didn't know it.

This is just one more reason that you should be reading classic books.

How would you know if your skirt had been kirtled in a disheveling wind?

You wouldn't. You would probably say something really uneducated, like, "My dress is all messed up in this awful wind."

Now you can say, "My flowing gown is knotted and kirtled up in the disheveling wind."

You're welcome. Enough little tidbits like this and you may become literate, or at least more interesting than if you spent time everyday watching Oprah.

5 comments:

bristowmom said...

My head is spinning. You don't post for FOREVER and then... post after post! I only have time for a quick read so will have to read more thoroughly again later. As far as Nim's Island - I sent Eric and the kids to see it at the theater several weeks ago only to find out it was no longer there! We'll have to rent it. The slumber party idea is a good one!

And by the way - thanks for the posts! I love getting caught up on your world.

Mrs. Sinta said...

Thanks for posting yourself. I wish you had a blog.

Unknown said...

True story:
It's always windy during the most inopportune times in Tucson. Also, no matter which direction you are biking, the wind is always against you. Always.

So anyways, one time I had a flouncy skirt on, and I was biking, and the wind was against me, and it was an inopportune time. I was biking past this fancy hotel and a group of business men had just arrived so they were standing outside. All of a sudden a huge gust of wind blasted against me, and my skirt flew up, and everyone got to see my panties. Thankfully I maintained my composure enough to not fall off my bike and speed away.

Mrs. Sinta said...

Killer Skirt Story.

Lyssa said...

I love that word, kirtled!