Over at Jeff's place. He knocks one out of the park.
Cf. Milton's Leviathan simile. Compare and contrast: Jeff compares Ted Rall to a genital herpes virus; Milton compares Satan to a whale. Jeff's description evokes images of purulence; Milton's description evokes images of great size, coupled with deception. Jeff says "discharge" and "penile"; Milton says "seamen."
Thus Satan, talking to his nearest Mate,
With head uplift above the wave, and eyes
That sparkling blazed; his other parts besides
Prone on the flood, extended long and large,
Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge
As whom the fables name of monstrous size,
Titanian or Earth-born, that warred on Jove,
Briareos or Typhon, whom the den
By ancient Tarsus held, or that sea-beast
Leviathan, which God of all his works
Created hugest that swim the ocean-stream.
Him, haply slumbering on the Norway foam,
The pilot of some small night-foundered skiff,
Deeming some island, oft, as seamen tell,
With fixèd anchor in his scaly rind,
Moors by his side under the lee, while night
Invests the sea, and wishèd morn delays.
So stretched out huge in length the Arch-Fiend lay,
Chained on the burning lake.
I find that women like nothing better than a man who can craft an epic simile.
Except in Milton's case. Chicks hated that dude.
Posted by: Jeff G | November 29, 2005 at 02:10 AM
The boy could party down, though:
Come and trip it as ye go
On the light fantastic toe...
Sure, that sounds gay now, but it was hot stuff back in the day.
Posted by: gail | November 29, 2005 at 07:50 AM