Season 4 Part 13: Songs of Sadness
Hi readers! One more skipped week - it's been snow, snow, and craziness in my part of the world, one distraction after another. When I saw it was already Friday again, I knew I had to get the post up!
Today we're closing up the Ares marathon and reading a story, Songs of Sadness, by a new author, Kara.
1. How lame a cripple this world. This story deals with various kinds of emotional anguish, from the death of a loved one to a hard breakup. Sophia said that she was called by pain, and she didn't seem to care what caused it. What feature 'qualified' someone like Tabitha as a victim? Is there a certain level of grief that she came to despite the temporary nature of her tragedy?
2. This is a job for... Eleanor has a very good reason for wanting this case solved. Did she act rationally when faced with potential accusation? What would have happened here if Eleanor had never heard of Project Paranormal, or refused to believe that something supernatural was afoot?
3. It's a Donne deal. Here's a fun one - assuming you didn't already know all the details of the real-world Bolsover Castle, did you assume that Sophia's story and the writing on the walls were real, or could you tell they were artistic license? If the latter, what gave it away? Have you ever been to an ancient place where the graffiti has become part of it?
4. Where I was at the time. Angel is quite the poetry fan. He explains to Buffy why he likes the material written before his time - it puts him at the same place as every other reader. None of us here are as old as Angel or have a comparable history, but is there any way that you can relate to this? Have you ever been distracted from something you're reading or viewing by thinking about its context or history?
5. Life in a new rhythm. The appropriate answer to Sophia's 'solution' to grief ends up being expressed through another poem, one that points out that the benefits of life are worth the suffering. How many ways have you seen this in the canon Buffyverse? How about in other works of fiction or philosophy - or even your own life, if you've had a particular experience you'd like to relate?
Thanks for sticking with us one more time. Hopefully we'll have you again twice more, and hopefully the next one really will come next week. One way or another, the story on deck is End of Days; don't miss it!
Today we're closing up the Ares marathon and reading a story, Songs of Sadness, by a new author, Kara.
1. How lame a cripple this world. This story deals with various kinds of emotional anguish, from the death of a loved one to a hard breakup. Sophia said that she was called by pain, and she didn't seem to care what caused it. What feature 'qualified' someone like Tabitha as a victim? Is there a certain level of grief that she came to despite the temporary nature of her tragedy?
2. This is a job for... Eleanor has a very good reason for wanting this case solved. Did she act rationally when faced with potential accusation? What would have happened here if Eleanor had never heard of Project Paranormal, or refused to believe that something supernatural was afoot?
3. It's a Donne deal. Here's a fun one - assuming you didn't already know all the details of the real-world Bolsover Castle, did you assume that Sophia's story and the writing on the walls were real, or could you tell they were artistic license? If the latter, what gave it away? Have you ever been to an ancient place where the graffiti has become part of it?
4. Where I was at the time. Angel is quite the poetry fan. He explains to Buffy why he likes the material written before his time - it puts him at the same place as every other reader. None of us here are as old as Angel or have a comparable history, but is there any way that you can relate to this? Have you ever been distracted from something you're reading or viewing by thinking about its context or history?
5. Life in a new rhythm. The appropriate answer to Sophia's 'solution' to grief ends up being expressed through another poem, one that points out that the benefits of life are worth the suffering. How many ways have you seen this in the canon Buffyverse? How about in other works of fiction or philosophy - or even your own life, if you've had a particular experience you'd like to relate?
Thanks for sticking with us one more time. Hopefully we'll have you again twice more, and hopefully the next one really will come next week. One way or another, the story on deck is End of Days; don't miss it!