Myth and Folklore

“It’s her.” These were the simple words going through Britomart’s mind as she gazed at the fair maiden before her. The wicked Enchanter turned and raised his staff to deliver a death blow to his prisoner, the maiden who stood bound to a pillar by magic rope. Britomart lunged between them in the nick of time, raising her sword and mortally wounding the Enchanter with a fierce blow. As he fell to the ground and life slipped away from him, the ropes around the maiden went limp and slipped off her frail body. Her skin had turned blue where the tight bonds dug into her skin. “Noble knight! You have freed me from a life of misery in this vile place. How can I ever repay your kindness?” Britomart heard these words, but could not comprehend them as she stood gazing at the maiden through the metal plate surrounding her eyes; she had seen this face before. Many months prior, Britomart’s father, the King, had given her the gift of a magic mirror, which he had gotten from

The Soldier and the Devil -A soldier is going home with threepence -He distributes each coin to a different beggar, each one in worse shape than the one before -When he left the forest he was granted three bonns by the Lord for his charity -He chose a pipe always full of tobacco, a purse always full of gold, and a knapsack that he could easily capture anyone in with a few simple words -He went to a mill and asked for lodging, but the only available room they told him was haunted by a devil -The devil appears and plays cards with him -When the devil tries to tear him apart, the soldier captures him in his knapsack -He leaves with it in the morning and asks a blacksmith to give the devil a good beating before he lets him go -He hears of a lady who plays cards and always wins -She is frustrated that she cannot win all the money from the soldier and steals his three magic gifts during the night -He goes along his way, eats half an apple and grows horns, and then eats half a pear

Sleepy John -Sleepy John slept everywhere -One day he fell asleep in a cart, whose owners returned and put him in a cask, which they left in the forest -When John awake there were wolves surrounding the cask, and John feared for his life -When one of the wolves stuck its tail through a hole in the barrel, John grabbed on -As the wolf ran, the cask trampled along and frightened the wolves, who ran away -He meets a hermit in the mountains who offers him shelter -The hermit says he will die in three days and asks John to bury him -The hermit then gives him gifts -A stick: wherever he points the stick with a desire to go, he will find himself there -A knapsack: whatever he desires will be inside -A cap: that will make him invisible -John hears how the Queen's dancing slippers are being worn down every night -He goes to the King to accept the challenge of tracing her -Once she thinks he is asleep in a room adjacent to hers, she sets off -John is able to follow because of

Grammar and Usage This page offered insightful quotes from authors about different nuances related to grammar. The split infinitive came up in several quotes, and as I had never heard of this concept, I looked it up. The best example I found was a line from Star Trek that began "to boldly go..." All of the quotes related to this concept seemed to agree that infinitive splitting was absolutely alright despite notions that it is grammatically clumsy and/or incorrect. As Lederer states, it can add just the right "shade of meaning" in some cases. Many of the quotes also seemed to recommend against the use of adjectives, which I found very interesting, as I grew up in a school environment where lavish descriptions were encouraged. I particularly liked Fadiman's quote on the topic: "The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech." Give it the First Energy of the Day This snippet of advice offered by Salman Rushdie was wonderful and very relata

A Mad Tea-Party -The March Hare and Mad Hatter are having tea at a large table outside of a house -The doormouse is asleep between them, and they are using him as a cushion to rest their elbows on  -They are huddled together at one corner of the table screaming "no room!" when in fact there are many open chairs -Alice sits down at the end of the table and is offered wine -Not seeing any, Alice inquires where it is, and the March Hare boldly declares there is none -Alice is annoyed by his lack of manners -The Hatter declares Alice's hair "wants cutting" (hair personification??) and Alice remarks he should not make personal comments -The Hatter asks "why is the raven like the writing desk?" -Alice is delighted to have a riddle to solve, but is berated by the two other tea partiers for how she goes about declaring she will solve it -Even the door mouse chimes in despite his drowsy state  -The Hatter takes out his pocket watch to see

Down the Rabbit-Hole -Alice is sitting by her sister on the bank of a river -Her sister is reading, but Alice is very bored -She is contemplating making a daisy chain when suddenly a white rabbit runs by her -The rabbit is muttering to himself about being late, which seems quite natural to Alice at the time  -When the rabbit takes a watch out of its waistcoat pocket, it suddenly occurs to Alice that this is a strange sight -She follows the rabbit as he disappears under a hedge -Alice jumps into the rabbit hole behind him and finds herself falling a long way down -She is able to examine a multitude of cupboards and bookshelves in the sides of the well as she falls  -Alice begins wondering aloud how many miles she has fallen into the earth -She begins wondering if she might fall clear through the earth, and end up in a country such as New Zealand or Australia -She is a very curious little girl and imagines such wild things as she continues to fall Advice From a

How Britomart Rescued a Fair Lady from a Wicked Enchanter -Britomart hides in the strange castle  -The next evening, she enters the strange room where the charms of the previous night had passed into -She finds a maiden bound by chains to a pillar within  -The Enchanter, who rules the castle, sits within drawing strange symbols in blood -This is one of many charms he has tried to use to win the lady's love -Still she refuses to give into her tormentor -When the Enchanter sees Britomart, he runs at the lady with a knife, intending to kill her -Britomart swoops in and knocks him down -He wounds Britomart, but in turn she swings at him and brings him to half death -The lady begs her not kill him, for only he can undo the chains and suffering she is bound by -Britomart forces him to undo the enchantments that ensnare, and as her chains fall she is returned to perfect health -They leave the castle to go to the lady's lover, the knight Scudamor -Unfortunate

Sir Guyon -Prince Arthur and Sir Guyon are traveling together having epic adventures -they were glorious and honorable, and aimed to reprieve the weak and oppressed -One day a knight began spurring toward them across an open plain  -Sir Guyon want to face the attack, but was knocked from his horse -He felt a deep sense of shame, but what he did not realize was the that spear that threw him was enchanted, and no man could have resisted it -The other knight was secretly a maiden, the princess of Britomart -She was on a quest to find the knight Artegall, whose glory she had seen in a magic mirror -She disguised herself as a knight, and her nurse disguised herself as her squire -Sir Guyon rose to go after the attacker on foot, but his attendant warned him against it -Sir Guyon and the knight were then reconciled and swore friendship -Knights did not always fight out of malice, but out of the desire to test their strength and manliness -It was considered a valuable