The Sensual Paraphrase

[MTARR@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU]

Hi!
 
Fiona sez:
 
}Thanks for the posting comparing Ulysses to The Sensual World -
}it was fascinating. One point that struck me was that at the
}very end where Kate Bush says "And I whispered yes...but not
}yet.." the Joyce words are "I will, yes". I always point out
}that line in the song to people who say wow, what a great song,
}she sounds like she's really h**ny (or rude words to that
}effect) - to show that it is not just an expression of lust but
}is bigger than that.  Another example would be the line "If it
}slipped between my breasts/he's (oops, he'd) rescue it...." and
}the Joyce original which is "I held him close to me so he could
}feel my breasts".   Anyone care to speculate on why she chose to
put in these - distancing? - changes from the original?
 
Sure.  Kate couldn't use the exact text of the soliloquy because
the Joyce estate wouldn't let her- she's talked about what a
fight she had with them before she finally decided to paraphrase
it, many times.  The distance, I think, comes from the concept
that Kate's character is "stepping out off the page into the 
sensual world", stepping away from the original tone of the
text and into a, um, kinder, gentler situation.
 
I believe that this song is one of the most masterful bits of
paraphrasing ever done.  Comparing the two texts is truly a joy-
Kate is so devious!  My favorite line is the one that sums up her
experience in writing it:
 
"And then our arrows of desire rewrite the speech"
 
And how. :)
 
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Meredith Tarr		                               m.tarr1@genie.geis.com
America can't survive another four years...  fight the idiocy on November 3rd
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