For a somewhat obtuse (but guessable) reason, my morning mind today conjured up and latched onto this phrase: the summer of our discontent. It seemed suspiciously unoriginal, so I googled it. Voila! Riches previously unknown spilled out and a small mining project began.
Better educated persons can plumb this mine, but even scratching its glistening surface has happily preoccupied me for awhile, sort of like a really creative three minute commercial. (Sometimes commercials offer needed relief from the intense dark drama of everyday life, no?)
The Winter of Our Discontent. Contemporary Philosophical Discontent. Discontent, Isolation and Hiding Places. Shakespeare, Steinbeck, and Me.
Hmmmmm. So my afternoon mind has plenty to busy itself with, even if a cavernous quasi-eremitical existence appears ludicrous to strangers.
“The evil usurper who reveals his inner thoughts in ‘Richard III’ uses ‘our’ to denote his status as king. Steinbeck’s characters are contemporary Americans, and their thoughts—like ours—are much more about ‘me’ than ‘we.’
The ourof Richard’s discontent in the play Steinbeck quotes is isolated, the political and psychological paranoia of a one-man murder ring. In The Winter of Our Discontent, the attitude of discontent is philosophical—an existential anxiety embodied in the protagonist, his spouse, his best friend, his would-be mistress, and in the personal life of the author as well. Discontent in the play Steinbeck quotes for a reason is individual. In The Winter of Our Discontentit is dramatized as a condition of existence for everyone involved—including us.”
( cf: The Philosophy of Our Discontent
SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 BY JAMES CI// About James Ci
James Ci is a visual artist living in North Carolina. He received his BFA degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.)
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