"The Moon entered the sky. That low, it did not yet cast a glade." (23, p. 220)
Here is Poul Anderson's idiosyncratic use of "glade," again. (Scroll down.)
"The ship lifted." (24, p. 226)
In sf, we take it for granted that ships "lift" but think how much the meaning of the word, "ship," has been extended by this usage. Outside the viewport, the stars:
"...crowded vision, a frosty glory." (ibid.)
No Milky Way this time but we have read about stellar frost and glory before.
In American sf, taking off into space, preferably going interstellar, is the ultimate symbol of freedom. In this passage, Guthrie is indeed escaping not only from Terrestrial gravity but also from the Security Police. However, they wait on Luna - reprehensible activity extends beyond Earth - so the chase is not over yet.
Harvest Of Stars is divided into:
Epilogue, pp. 1-2;
PART ONE kyra 1-24, pp. 3-233;
PART TWO eiko 25-39, pp. 234-383;
PART THREE demeter 40-63, pp. 384-531.
Fortunately, we approach p. 234. I want to get away from the Sepo as much as Guthrie does.
Something will happen tomorrow. I am not sure what.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
On this matter of the correct use of "glad," I have to regretfully disagree with Poul Anderson. "Glade," by itself, simply doesn't make sense the way he was using it. Every dictionary I checked defines it as an open space within a forest. I can just imagine what a philological purist like JRR Tolkien would have said!
Am I right to think you find it somewhat odd to use "ship" for the kind of air tight and enclosed vehicle humans would need in space? But I found it quite natural to use "ship" like that for space vehicles when I first started reading SF. Would you prefer "vehicle" instead of "ship"?
Human beings what they are I would not be in the least surprised when reprehensible activities start being perpetrated beyond Earth's orbit!
Sean
Sean,
Oh no. I appreciate the way words extend and change their meanings. One parable extended the meaning of the word "neighbor" and changed the meaning of the word "Samaritan."
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Of course some words can legitimately change and extend their original meanings. But I don't think that has yet happened to "glade."
And everyone with some familiarity with the New Testament would immediately realize you had Christ's parable of the Good Samaritan in mind!
Sean
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