Genius | Song Lyrics & Knowledge

or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp. George Orwell – Nineteen Eighty-Four (Book 1, Chapter 1)

What is this?

The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Again parallels the situation in Soviet Russia at the time. Forced labor camps (the Soviet Gulag) were a common method of punishment under Stalin.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

'Tis strange my Theseus, that these
lovers speak of. William Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 5 Scene 1

Genius Annotation 1 Contributor ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

It’s strange what these lovers speak of, my dear Theseus.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

I would to God that the inclusive verge
Of golden metal that must round my brow William Shakespeare – Richard III Act 4 Scene 1

Genius Annotation 1 Contributor ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

inclusive…metal: The crown that Anne will be forced to wear. She wishes it would kill her all at once rather than tormenting her and placing her life in constant danger.

Compare Macbeth 1.5: “the golden round.”

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

All that impedes thee from the golden round,
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem
To have thee crown'd withal. William Shakespeare – Macbeth Act 1 Scene 5

Genius Annotation 1 Contributor ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

withal: with.

golden round: crown. See Lady Anne in Richard III: “the inclusive verge / Of golden metal that must round my brow…”

The crown to which fate destines thee, and which preternatural agents “endeavour” to bestow upon thee. The “golden round” is the “diadem.”

–Samuel Johnson’s Commentary

The word “seem” also emphasizes the discrepancy in Macbeth between appearance and reality, between looking like an innocent flower and being the serpent under it. Fate and metaphysical aid seem to have crowned Macbeth in the future already; it seems to be a done deal. One might ask, though: if Macbeth’s kingship is truly fated, why does Lady Macbeth feel the need to help it along?

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

**withal**: with.

**golden round**: crown. See Lady Anne in [*Richard III*:](http://genius.com/7340344) "the inclusive verge / Of golden metal that must round my brow..."

>The crown to which fate destines thee, and which preternatural agents "endeavour" to bestow upon thee. The "golden round" is the ["diadem."](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diadem)

>--Samuel Johnson's [Commentary](https://books.google.com/books?id=5io6AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=For+%E2%80%9Cseem%E2%80%9D+the+sense+evidently+directs+us+to+read+%E2%80%9Cseek.%E2%80%9D+The+crown+to+which+fate+destines+thee,+and+which+preternatural+agents+%E2%80%9Cendeavour%E2%80%9D+to+bestow+upon+thee.+The+%E2%80%9Cgolden+round%E2%80%9D+is+the+%E2%80%9Cdiadem.%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=sSIYNjF03j&sig=SPZT8auIscsKkvnv5SS4PVYcc_0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDwQ6AEwBmoVChMItZGK35XexgIVxDOICh3fCAF1#v=onepage&q=For%20%E2%80%9Cseem%E2%80%9D%20the%20sense%20evidently%20directs%20us%20to%20read%20%E2%80%9Cseek.%E2%80%9D%20The%20crown%20to%20which%20fate%20destines%20thee%2C%20and%20which%20preternatural%20agents%20%E2%80%9Cendeavour%E2%80%9D%20to%20bestow%20upon%20thee.%20The%20%E2%80%9Cgolden%20round%E2%80%9D%20is%20the%20%E2%80%9Cdiadem.%E2%80%9D&f=false)

The word “seem” also emphasizes the discrepancy in *Macbeth* between appearance and reality, between looking like an innocent flower and being the serpent under it. Fate and metaphysical aid *seem* to have crowned Macbeth in the future already; it *seems* to be a done deal. One might ask, though: if Macbeth’s kingship is truly fated, why does Lady Macbeth feel the need to help it along?

report abuse

7 years

Lady M believes the highest supernatural powers have made their destiny the crown, and those powers would aid any plans to seize it.

Upvote +2 Downvote

Marked this as missing something ?

7 years

Metaphysical – referring to the supernatural

Upvote +3 Downvote

Marked this as missing something ?

8 years

Lady Macbeth is saying that fate and witchcraft both seem to want Macbeth to be king.

Upvote +5 Downvote

Johnstone Smitherson

Marked this as a stretch ?

8 years

You should take out the quote. it is quite stupid and irrelivant, my foul friend.

Upvote -12 Downvote

Show all improvement suggestions

He's not selling any alibis Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone

Genius Annotation 1 Contributor ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Though you might strike bargains with almost anyone in order to keep going, and justify your fall in any way you please, the truth is that no one is going to give you “alibis” for being where you are–your downfall is yours and yours alone.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

When I was one-and-twenty A. E. Housman – When I Was One-and-Twenty

Genius Annotation 1 Contributor ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

The speaker is reflecting back on the man he was a year ago.

Twenty-one is about college age. Housman himself, while an undergraduate at Oxford, developed strong feelings for his roommate Moses Jackson. Jackson was heterosexual and didn’t reciprocate, but helped inspire many of Housman’s later poems of thwarted love. In the collection More Poems, one lyric begins:

Because I liked you better
Than suits a man to say,
It irked you and I promised
To throw the thought away.

Moses Jackson

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

But keep your fancy free." A. E. Housman – When I Was One-and-Twenty

Genius Annotation 1 Contributor ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

fancy: desire, affections.

In other words, don’t get too attached to any one person. Play it cool.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

"The heart out of the A. E. Housman – When I Was One-and-Twenty

Genius Annotation 1 Contributor ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

In other words, no one has ever given their heart away without cost or consequences. There’s always an emotional price to love.

rue: bitterness, regret.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzXn-G4Mi14

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

And I am two-and-twenty, A. E. Housman – When I Was One-and-Twenty

Genius Annotation 1 Contributor ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

Not literally true! “When I Was One-and-Twenty” is a dramatic monologue from the collection A Shropshire Lad (1896), published when Housman was 37 years old. However, it’s possible the poet is adopting the voice/stance of his younger self.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

Parataxis Lit Genius (Ft. Lit Genius) – Glossary of Literary Terms

Genius Annotation 2 Contributors ?

What is this?

To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.

The juxtaposition of phrases without using subordinating conjunctions (e.g., after, although, because, before, since, so, while) to make cause/effect and hierarchy explicit.

Parataxis often creates a kind of collage effect in which disparate elements (such as sentences or lines of a poem) are given equal weight, and the reader must infer the relationship between them.

A good example is Julius Caesar’s “I came, I saw, I conquered”.

This video is processing – it'll appear automatically when it's done.

report abuse

« Previous 1 2 … 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 … 662 663 Next »

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

Integrate the suggestion into the annotation, keeping the contributor guidelines in mind.