h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What is rather unusual, and therefore Quiet Interesting about this rendering of The Raven?


Poe. E

"Near a Raven"

Midnights so dreary, tired and weary.
Silently pondering volumes extolling all by now - obsolete lore
During my rather long nap - the weirdest tap!
An ominous vibrating sound disturbing my chamber's antedoor.
'This', I whispered quietly, 'I ignore'.

No Googling or Wikipedia of any kind permitted.

There are klaxons, of course, so be bold, preferably interesting but never obvious.


Good luck.

It is a palindrome.

This poem was used in 'The Crow'. Eric Draven was reciting parts of it as he was taking his revenge.

Brandon Lee was accidently killed during the making of one of the scenes, I believe it was the long table scene with all the mob bosses shooting at each other.

Well, I think thats interesting.

Isn't a palindrome the thing you can read one way or the other (like "kayak", for example)? Did I miss something here?

No it isn't.

Not this poem.

Yes that is true about Brandon Lee and interesting but not Quite Interesting.

The test I use is if someone tels me something and I going instinctively "oh that's quiet interesting I didn't know that."

How Brandon lee died isn't quite up in that category.

Yes that is what a palindrome is and it isn't this.

What? Palindrome was a klaxon? But it was just so obviously false

And yes, a palindrome is something you can read both ways. Georges Perec wrote a palindrome with more than a thousand words. As an example of phonetic palindrome, I can offer you,

"Jeanne en luge, Jules en nage."
"J'arrive en nage au châlet où je m'affale. La femme joue, elle a chaud, Jeanne, en virage."



So is it some other linguistic peculiarity? I mean something like, a spoonerism, or if you read every other word you get another poem, or you don't use the letter e. (All of which are not actual suggestions, but I cannot think of something fulfilled by this poem yet)

"it was just so obviously false!"

Exactly, and yet in spite of the warning that accompanies every QI I write, there's always someone willing to boldly go were other rightly fear to tread.

There *is* some linguistic peculiarity, indeed - don't forget the clue in the title, it might help.

lol, yeah, unfortunately all I seem to know is mildly interesting things... I'll get ya one day!

Blackbeard was a pirate who apparently hid his treasure and killed his crew so they couldn't steal it... Or am I thinking of a different pirate...

If that were true though, how did he get his crew to sign up in the first place?

(hint nudge clue..)

Taking the mildly interesting, and making in quiet interesting is what I'm good at.

You could ask Toybox if they weren't still smarting over that klaxon!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/FFM7180006?thread=7397781&skip=132&show=1

It reads like the original poem was translated into foreign and then back into English. The general sense is still there, but it's got a bit mangled.


Geggs

How did he get the crew to sign up in the first place...Im guessing by not telling them they had a limited life expectancy.

Promising them riches beyond their wildest dreams. I believe most pirates were run-aways, some were forced against their will, some were running from the law. Im sure Blackbeard was very peotical in his convincing, probably brought a round at the pub, laughed a lot and told really great stories of lost lands and huge hordes.

He probably killed them by poisoning the grog.

The poem is not a translation from the foreign, but you are right about preserving the sense, style and a familiar-ish cadence. All deliberate on the part of the author, I assure thee.

>>Promising them riches beyond their wildest dreams. [...] I'm sure Blackbeard was very poetical in his convincing, probably brought a round at the pub, laughed a lot and told really great stories of lost lands and huge hordes.<<

That gets a DGI +1

Is the poem somehow a treasure map?

"It's a treasure map"

We saw you coming.

It can be of use in finding something you may have lost but it's not treasure

Your marbles?

OK, off giving away blood now