An Old Euphemism That should be resurrected

[Wifetheif]

An old euphemism that should come back. Check out this old Flash Gordon strip by Alexander Raymond. The reader is informed that Dale Arden is "baqueting" with Ming the merciless. Her expression certainly is glum. BUT in the final panet it is revealed that Dale has her hands tied behind her back! What kind of "banqueting" can one do sans hands? Raymond has just slipped a forced fellatio reference under the noses of millions of readers! Unreal! "Banqueting" as a term for gobbling the sausage needs to make a come back. Reminder, not even "Flesh Gordon" was as dirty as the original Flash Gordon comic strip.

 

[intim8]

It's a good one, but it seems like it would only work if the story is in the kind of formal setting where that term wouldn't jump out as not fitting.

 

[StillStunned]

BUT in the final panet it is revealed that Dale has her hands tied behind her back! What kind of "banqueting" can one do sans hands?

Apple bobbing.

It's a good one, but it seems like it would only work if the story is in the kind of formal setting where that term wouldn't jump out as not fitting.

I have a WIP that's set at a Regency ball, with the hostess oblivious to all the... banqueting... going on around her.

 

[furiousdistribution]

There's a new expression that's very appropriate here - "go outside and touch grass" hahaha
My guy it is not a sex reference at all. The author is ironically using the term. First the author specifically says "Ming banquets with Dale" which implies she's not doing anything of the sort. As clearly, she's tied up. Imagine if they were playing chess or something right? You could make the same joke. So why food?

So, second there's a deeper level of characterization for Ming here. If you ever watch a movie where a person eats in front of another person without offering them any food, 99.9999% of the time it's a bad guy.

Eating in front of someone is a way to show both power dynamics and callousness.

In no way was anyone involved in this comic attempting to imply oral rape.

Good God, I think this site has affected you hahaha.

 

[StillStunned]

I like this line: "If I can judge by past performances he'll come soon-" The look on Dale's face says that she's silently agreeing.

 

[Wifetheif]

There's a new expression that's very appropriate here - "go outside and touch grass" hahaha
My guy it is not a sex reference at all. The author is ironically using the term. First the author specifically says "Ming banquets with Dale" which implies she's not doing anything of the sort. As clearly, she's tied up. Imagine if they were playing chess or something right? You could make the same joke. So why food?

So, second there's a deeper level of characterization for Ming here. If you ever watch a movie where a person eats in front of another person without offering them any food, 99.9999% of the time it's a bad guy.

Eating in front of someone is a way to show both power dynamics and callousness.

In no way was anyone involved in this comic attempting to imply oral rape.

Good God, I think this site has affected you hahaha.

I respectfully disagree. In the prior two weeks of the strip, Ming had captured Dale and suddenly her wardrobe went from completely covered in a red cloak to this skimpy number. It IS heavily implied in that strip that Ming made her undress and put the slinky duds on in his presence. Raymond made a lot happen off panel. On panel, he had Dale strip searched. Being forced to orally pleasure Ming is decidedly on brand.

 

[StillStunned]

I managed to pull my eyes away from Dale long enough to read the final panel. "Next Week - THE EMPTY GOAL". Does Flash play football and miss a sitter? Or is it a typo for "gaol"?

 

[Britva415]

Euphemisms are used because

I respectfully disagree. In the prior two weeks of the strip, Ming had captured Dale and suddenly her wardrobe went from completely covered in a red cloak to this skimpy number. It IS heavily implied in that strip that Ming made her undress and put the slinky duds on in his presence. Raymond made a lot happen off panel. On panel, he had Dale strip searched. Being forced to orally pleasure Ming is decidedly on brand.

You're not wrong, but that doesn't mean this panel was ever intended to depict her eating him. They're literally banqueting together - you can see the banquet table right there. Even though she can't feed herself, it doesn't mean it's not a banquet.

Sure, I absolutely can see what you're talking about - things are set up to suggest, in a 1930s way, that Ming will have his way with Dale. But "banquet" is not a euphemism, it's just part of the setup so we can see that not only does Ming want to have her, he also wants her to be impressed with him, and that maybe-just-maybe he'll get to have her, willingly because of his wealth and power.

Maybe I'm wrong and maybe there's evidence somewhere that the word "banquet" has a history of being used as a euphemism for fellatio roughly 100 years or more ago. I'll tell you this much: The Oxford English Dictionary doesn't have it, and I couldn't find anything else to support that this was ever a thing which was lost and could now "come back."

I'm tickled that your sense of language gives you the ability to project an unintended meaning onto the word "banquet." It indicates a high level of literacy and literary appreciation. This is one way that neologisms and euphemisms are formed in the first place. But it doesn't indicate that it ever was a recognized euphemism before now.

 

[lovecraft68]

You're really obsessed with 1940's rape connotations and sexism.

 

[Wifetheif]

Euphemisms are used because

You're not wrong, but that doesn't mean this panel was ever intended to depict her eating him. They're literally banqueting together - you can see the banquet table right there. Even though she can't feed herself, it doesn't mean it's not a banquet.

Sure, I absolutely can see what you're talking about - things are set up to suggest, in a 1930s way, that Ming will have his way with Dale. But "banquet" is not a euphemism, it's just part of the setup so we can see that not only does Ming want to have her, he also wants her to be impressed with him, and that maybe-just-maybe he'll get to have her, willingly because of his wealth and power.

Maybe I'm wrong and maybe there's evidence somewhere that the word "banquet" has a history of being used as a euphemism for fellatio roughly 100 years or more ago. I'll tell you this much: The Oxford English Dictionary doesn't have it, and I couldn't find anything else to support that this was ever a thing which was lost and could now "come back."

I'm tickled that your sense of language gives you the ability to project an unintended meaning onto the word "banquet." It indicates a high level of literacy and literary appreciation. This is one way that neologisms and euphemisms are formed in the first place. But it doesn't indicate that it ever was a recognized euphemism before now.

I agree to a point, HOWEVER there was a very clear and very wide BDSM subtext to Flash Gordon. Both Dale and. Flash were strung up and flogged. When Dale was sent to prison, two very mannish looking matrons took utter delight in tearing off her clothes. Flash is ofter strun up spread eagle by various bad guys and bad girls. It is quite blatant when you see it. Would a guy who drew THIS NOT have a sexual subtext to almost everything he drew? image

 

[Wifetheif]

You're really obsessed with 1940's rape connotations and sexism.

Thanks for kink shaming me. Actually, I love the Flash Gordon strip because my late father who was born in 1930 learned to read via the Sunday Flash Gordon strip and reading it and understanding it and all its subtexts makes me feel closer to my father.

 

[Wifetheif]

You're really obsessed with 1940's rape connotations and sexism.

Good thing there are no lesbian rape and sadism overtones in the original Flash Gordon comic strip

 

[Britva415]

I agree to a point, HOWEVER there was a very clear and very wide BDSM subtext to Flash Gordon. Both Dale and. Flash were strung up and flogged. When Dale was sent to prison, two very mannish looking matrons took utter delight in tearing off her clothes. Flash is ofter strun up spread eagle by various bad guys and bad girls. It is quite blatant when you see it. Would a guy who drew THIS NOT have a sexual subtext to almost everything he drew? imageView attachment 2343141

I wasn't saying there wasn't sexual subtext.

 

[Wifetheif]

I wasn't saying there wasn't sexual subtext.

The entire strip had sexual subtexts. People think of the 1930s and 1940s as prudish periods in history. That was true of some folks but look at Hollywood before the Hayes office. Jane swimming naked with Tarzan. King Kong ripping off Ann Darrow's clothes. The blue noses shut that down but it didn't disappear. Alex Raymond was able to take all that sensuality including gay and bi inklings, wrap them up in a fantasy concept and present them to millions of oblivious readers. Flash Gordon, unlike Buck Rogers, was. at least nominally, set in the present. Therefore it reflected real desires and real ambitions of contemporary readers. A great deal of the really kinky stuff occurs off panel out of necessity. Dale's strip search begins and ends before we see any naughty bits. BUT the astute reader knows in the panel not shown she is starkers and being probed fore and aft. Raymond rewarded astute readers with little gems like that all the time. Ming having just nabbed Dale and made her dress in a slinky dress is going to press every advantage he can. There is also no logical reason for her hands to be tied behind her back since she is in a locked room in Ming's palace and can't eascape on her own volition. Why ELSE would Ming tie her hands if not to prevent her from fighting him off? Perhaps it wasn't forced fellatio, but whatever it was was equally distasteful to Dale. WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WAS?

 

[Bramblethorn]

An old euphemism that should come back. Check out this old Flash Gordon strip by Alexander Raymond. The reader is informed that Dale Arden is "baqueting" with Ming the merciless. Her expression certainly is glum. BUT in the final panet it is revealed that Dale has her hands tied behind her back! What kind of "banqueting" can one do sans hands?

Actually, the captioning says that "Ming banquets with Dale". That can be interpreted either as mutual banqueting or as "Ming banquets while Dale sits with him", but it doesn't lend itself to the interpretation that Dale is the only one doing the "eating".

I'd also note that she's tied in a sitting position on a chair. Your experiences with fellatio may be different to mine, but that doesn't strike me as a very convenient position if that were the intention. He'd have to stand bow-legged astride the chair, or something equally awkward. Ming strikes me more as the kind of guy to enjoy fellatio in the comfort of his own throne.

I'm not arguing with your general and oft-repeated notion that there's intentionally sexually suggestive material in the comic, but this ain't it. If anything, I'd find it easier to interpret it as implying that Ming was giving Dale oral; that seems distinctly more feasible in her current position, and a better fit to the wording that presents him as the active "banqueter".

But the most straightforward interpretation is just that Ming is sitting there banqueting, with Dale present. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

[Britva415]

The entire strip had sexual subtexts. People think of the 1930s and 1940s as prudish periods in history. That was true of some folks but look at Hollywood before the Hayes office. Jane swimming naked with Tarzan. King Kong ripping off Ann Darrow's clothes. The blue noses shut that down but it didn't disappear. Alex Raymond was able to take all that sensuality including gay and bi inklings, wrap them up in a fantasy concept and present them to millions of oblivious readers. Flash Gordon, unlike Buck Rogers, was. at least nominally, set in the present. Therefore it reflected real desires and real ambitions of contemporary readers. A great deal of the really kinky stuff occurs off panel out of necessity. Dale's strip search begins and ends before we see any naughty bits. BUT the astute reader knows in the panel not shown she is starkers and being probed fore and aft. Raymond rewarded astute readers with little gems like that all the time. Ming having just nabbed Dale and made her dress in a slinky dress is going to press every advantage he can. There is also no logical reason for her hands to be tied behind her back since she is in a locked room in Ming's palace and can't eascape on her own volition. Why ELSE would Ming tie her hands if not to prevent her from fighting him off? Perhaps it wasn't forced fellatio, but whatever it was was equally distasteful to Dale. WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WAS?

I'm not saying that any of that is wrong. I'm just saying that with all of that being true, it doesn't demonstrate that "banquet" was ever historically used as a euphemism for fellatio or that it's being used that way here. Everything you said is true whether "banquet" was specifically intended by the author to suggest "oral sex" in this comic or not.

I'm also not saying that you can't use it that way, yourself, regardless of whether anyone else anywhere ever did. Go ahead.

 

[Wifetheif]

I'm not saying that any of that is wrong. I'm just saying that with all of that being true, it doesn't demonstrate that "banquet" was ever historically used as a euphemism for fellatio or that it's being used that way here. Everything you said is true whether "banquet" was specifically intended by the author to suggest "oral sex" in this comic or not.

I'm also not saying that you can't use it that way, yourself, regardless of whether anyone else anywhere ever did. Go ahead.

True, it could have been Ming forcing himself on Dale orally. Whatever it was, judging by Dale's forlorn expression it involved something decidely NOT food related. By the way Banquet + Blow Job reveals a surprisingly large number of hits. So maybe your orignal objection does not carry as much weigh as you claim. In any event, Flash Gordon is one sexy comis strip!

 

[Bramblethorn]

True, it could have been Ming forcing himself on Dale orally. Whatever it was, judging by Dale's forlorn expression it involved something decidely NOT food related.

I'd be looking pretty forlorn if I was being held prisoner by an evil galactic emperor and my sweetheart was in danger, even with no sexual angle.

By the way Banquet + Blow Job reveals a surprisingly large number of hits.

Did you click through to check how many of them were actually using "banquet" as a euphemism for oral sex?

Unless you're being very specific in your search query, with a search engine that supports that, there's no guarantee that the hits for "banquet + blow job" will contain both (or even one of) those terms. Even less that the one is being used as a substitute for the other. Most search engines will interpret that as something like "find me pages related to either of these topics, especially but not only those that include both, and include results that might be related to these terms".

For instance, when I try that search, my hits include:

"How to give a blowjob like a pro" - no mention of "banquet" in the article.

"Blow Job Truths Every Woman Should Know" - another article with no mention of "banquet".

"Blowjob under table at dinner party" (many hits for the same video on different sites) - looks to be a literal dinner party with a woman under the table pleasuring people. I didn't check all of them in detail but I don't think many if any of them use the word "banquet"; rather, it looks like the search engine has picked "dinner party" as a close-enough term that it thinks I might be interested in dinner parties.

"Banquet hall fuck fest" (again, one video generating many different hits) - people having sex in a banquet hall. I assume somebody gets a blowjob somewhere in there but that doesn't mean "banquet" is referring to the blowjob.

A better test here would be to search on "banquet" alone, and see how many of the hits you get relate to blowjobs.

So maybe your orignal objection does not carry as much weigh as you claim. In any event, Flash Gordon is one sexy comis strip!

Yes, we get that it turns you on. You have created several threads on that topic. Nobody is suggesting that it doesn't get deliberately provocative at times, just questioning whether this particular scene really is all you're reading into it.

 

[Wifetheif]

I'd be looking pretty forlorn if I was being held prisoner by an evil galactic emperor and my sweetheart was in danger, even with no sexual angle.



Did you click through to check how many of them were actually using "banquet" as a euphemism for oral sex?

Unless you're being very specific in your search query, with a search engine that supports that, there's no guarantee that the hits for "banquet + blow job" will contain both (or even one of) those terms. Even less that the one is being used as a substitute for the other. Most search engines will interpret that as something like "find me pages related to either of these topics, especially but not only those that include both, and include results that might be related to these terms".

For instance, when I try that search, my hits include:

"How to give a blowjob like a pro" - no mention of "banquet" in the article.

"Blow Job Truths Every Woman Should Know" - another article with no mention of "banquet".

"Blowjob under table at dinner party" (many hits for the same video on different sites) - looks to be a literal dinner party with a woman under the table pleasuring people. I didn't check all of them in detail but I don't think many if any of them use the word "banquet"; rather, it looks like the search engine has picked "dinner party" as a close-enough term that it thinks I might be interested in dinner parties.

"Banquet hall fuck fest" (again, one video generating many different hits) - people having sex in a banquet hall. I assume somebody gets a blowjob somewhere in there but that doesn't mean "banquet" is referring to the blowjob.

A better test here would be to search on "banquet" alone, and see how many of the hits you get relate to blowjobs.



Yes, we get that it turns you on. You have created several threads on that topic. Nobody is suggesting that it doesn't get deliberately provocative at times, just questioning whether this particular scene really is all you're reading into it.

You didn't look hard enough -- Ozashiki (お座敷)A term for a geisha's engagements, which may take part or the whole of an evening. The term ozashiki combines the name for a banqueting room, zashiki (座敷), and the honorific prefix o- (お), changing the meaning to a term exclusively referring to the engagements a geisha takes.
Now, it is no stretch to claim that Geisha's sometimes provide blow jobs. Noe is it beyond the realm of possibility that the widely read and cosmopolitan Alexander Raymond or his ghosr Writer Don Moore would have encountered the term and filed it away. Where better to hide ther term than in plain sight. Remember Ming the Merciless is a "Yellow peril" character inspired by Fu Man Chu and other Asian bad guys. When portraying an Asian bad guy, why not slip in an Asian term?

I'd be looking pretty forlorn if I was being held prisoner by an evil galactic emperor and my sweetheart was in danger, even with no sexual angle.



Did you click through to check how many of them were actually using "banquet" as a euphemism for oral sex?

Unless you're being very specific in your search query, with a search engine that supports that, there's no guarantee that the hits for "banquet + blow job" will contain both (or even one of) those terms. Even less that the one is being used as a substitute for the other. Most search engines will interpret that as something like "find me pages related to either of these topics, especially but not only those that include both, and include results that might be related to these terms".

For instance, when I try that search, my hits include:

"How to give a blowjob like a pro" - no mention of "banquet" in the article.

"Blow Job Truths Every Woman Should Know" - another article with no mention of "banquet".

"Blowjob under table at dinner party" (many hits for the same video on different sites) - looks to be a literal dinner party with a woman under the table pleasuring people. I didn't check all of them in detail but I don't think many if any of them use the word "banquet"; rather, it looks like the search engine has picked "dinner party" as a close-enough term that it thinks I might be interested in dinner parties.

"Banquet hall fuck fest" (again, one video generating many different hits) - people having sex in a banquet hall. I assume somebody gets a blowjob somewhere in there but that doesn't mean "banquet" is referring to the blowjob.

A better test here would be to search on "banquet" alone, and see how many of the hits you get relate to blowjobs.



Yes, we get that it turns you on. You have created several threads on that topic. Nobody is suggesting that it doesn't get deliberately provocative at times, just questioning whether this particular scene really is all you're reading into it.

You didn't look hard enough -- Ozashiki (お座敷)A term for a geisha's engagements, which may take part or the whole of an evening. The term ozashiki combines the name for a banqueting room, zashiki (座敷), and the honorific prefix o- (お), changing the meaning to a term exclusively referring to the engagements a geisha takes.
Now, it is no stretch to claim that Geisha's sometimes provide blow jobs. Nor is it beyond the realm of possibility that the widely read and cosmopolitan Alexander Raymond or his ghost Writer Don Moore would have encountered the term and filed it away. Where better to hide ther term than in plain sight? Remember Ming the Merciless is a "Yellow peril" character inspired by Fu Man Chu and other Asian bad guys. When portraying an Asian bad guy, why not slip in an Asian term? Raymond wasn't stupid. Every gesture, every phrase was carefully considered. For a guy that drops strip searches, floggings, and spread eagle pinnings in his work why is it beyond the pale that he wouldn't drop an Asian double entendre in his text? Ming's nationality is heavily coded as Asian and the Japanese already had a reputation as the baddest of the Asians in 1940 when this strip ran. Everybody was aware of the Japanese threat and lots of folks were studying Japan as a result. Studying Geisha culture would have been a natural for the randy sexually inquisitive Alexander Raymond.
Your serve.

 

[alohadave]

An old euphemism that should come back. Check out this old Flash Gordon strip by Alexander Raymond. The reader is informed that Dale Arden is "baqueting" with Ming the merciless. Her expression certainly is glum. BUT in the final panet it is revealed that Dale has her hands tied behind her back! What kind of "banqueting" can one do sans hands? Raymond has just slipped a forced fellatio reference under the noses of millions of readers! Unreal! "Banqueting" as a term for gobbling the sausage needs to make a come back. Reminder, not even "Flesh Gordon" was as dirty as the original Flash Gordon comic strip. View attachment 2343091

Regardless of the point, the last panel is surprising in its use of shadow and light. The other panels are bright and the light doesn't call attention to itself. But that last panel stands out.

 

[Bramblethorn]

You didn't look hard enough -- Ozashiki (お座敷)A term for a geisha's engagements, which may take part or the whole of an evening. The term ozashiki combines the name for a banqueting room, zashiki (座敷), and the honorific prefix o- (お), changing the meaning to a term exclusively referring to the engagements a geisha takes.
Now, it is no stretch to claim that Geisha's sometimes provide blow jobs.

It looks like you're copy-pasting from the Wikipedia article on "geisha" there.

I'm surprised you didn't notice that the article makes no mention of oral sex, or that it takes pains to explain that, contrary to Western misunderstandings, "geisha" is not synonymous with "courtesan". For instance:

Geisha ... are female Japanese performing artists and entertainers trained in traditional Japanese performing arts styles, such as dance, music and singing, as well as being proficient conversationalists and hosts. Their distinct appearance is characterised by long, trailing kimono, traditional hairstyles and oshiroi make-up. Geisha entertain at parties known as ozashiki, often for the entertainment of wealthy clientele, as well as performing on stage and at festivals.

Despite long-held connotations between sex and geisha, a geisha's sex and love life is usually distinct from her professional life.

... the modern conflation between geisha and prostitutes continues as a pervasive idea, particularly in Western culture. Sheridan Prasso wrote that Americans had "an incorrect impression of the real geisha world [...] geisha means 'arts person' trained in music and dance, not in the art of sexual pleasure". Similarly, K.G. Henshall stated that the job of a geisha included "[entertaining] their customer, be it by dancing, reciting verse, playing musical instruments, or engaging in light conversation. Geisha engagements may include flirting with men and playful innuendos; however, clients know that nothing more can be expected. In a social style that is common in Japan, men are amused by the illusion of that which is never to be."

As the article also discusses, the distinction is not always upheld; some "geisha" did provide sexual services and they were sometimes classed alongside courtesans for legal purposes. But the kinds of "engagements" for which the profession is best known aren't primarily sexual in nature. The "banqueting" involved there would more likely be the literal kind involving food and drink.

I get that you enjoy the fantasy of Ming forcing Dale to blow him. As far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to enjoy that fantasy regardless of what was in Raymond's head at the time. I'm not going to judge anybody for the fantasies they get off to.

But if the best evidence for this fan theory requires reaching from English to Japanese (did Raymond even speak or read Japanese?), to a profession that has some historical associations with sex work but isn't primarily about sex work, to actual sex work, to specifically oral sex, to support this fan-theory that Raymond meant it the same way you enjoy imagining it, don't you think you're trying just a little too hard?

Noe is it beyond the realm of possibility that the widely read and cosmopolitan Alexander Raymond or his ghosr Writer Don Moore would have encountered the term and filed it away. Where better to hide ther term than in plain sight. Remember Ming the Merciless is a "Yellow peril" character inspired by Fu Man Chu and other Asian bad guys. When portraying an Asian bad guy, why not slip in an Asian term?

You didn't look hard enough -- Ozashiki (お座敷)A term for a geisha's engagements, which may take part or the whole of an evening. The term ozashiki combines the name for a banqueting room, zashiki (座敷), and the honorific prefix o- (お), changing the meaning to a term exclusively referring to the engagements a geisha takes.
Now, it is no stretch to claim that Geisha's sometimes provide blow jobs. Nor is it beyond the realm of possibility that the widely read and cosmopolitan Alexander Raymond or his ghost Writer Don Moore would have encountered the term and filed it away. Where better to hide ther term than in plain sight? Remember Ming the Merciless is a "Yellow peril" character inspired by Fu Man Chu and other Asian bad guys. When portraying an Asian bad guy, why not slip in an Asian term?

"The only possible answer."

Raymond wasn't stupid. Every gesture, every phrase was carefully considered. For a guy that drops strip searches, floggings, and spread eagle pinnings in his work why is it beyond the pale that he wouldn't drop an Asian double entendre in his text?

Nobody is suggesting that it'd be "beyond the pale" for Raymond to include double entendres; merely that you've not provided any compelling evidence that this is one of them.

Okay, checking out of this one now. Have fun.



Do you understand the difference between "it's something he might have done" and providing evidence to support the assertion that

Ming's nationality is heavily coded as Asian and the Japanese already had a reputation as the baddest of the Asians in 1940 when this strip ran. Everybody was aware of the Japanese threat and lots of folks were studying Japan as a result. Studying Geisha culture would have been a natural for the randy sexually inquisitive Alexander Raymond.
Your serve.

 

[mildlyaroused]

This thread serves as an interesting case study for how readers can sometimes analyse writing way beyond what the original author might have meant. It reminds me of English in high school, when we had to unpack every single line in a text with all their supposed intended purposes. In most cases, I highly doubt that authors thought about everything literary and pretentious we managed to squeeze out of a few lines. We just made it up.

This, I think, is a phenomenon that we see a lot in media or literary analysis.

 

[StillStunned]

This thread serves as an interesting case study for how readers can sometimes analyse writing way beyond what the original author might have meant. It reminds me of English in high school, when we had to unpack every single line in a text with all their supposed intended purposes. In most cases, I highly doubt that authors thought about everything literary and pretentious we managed to squeeze out of a few lines. We just made it up.

This, I think, is a phenomenon that we see a lot in media or literary analysis.

A lot of the techniques that writers use happen unconsciously. Using lots of "oo" sounds to denote a sense of foreboding, for example, or plosives in a character's speech to to indicate their anger. We picture the scene in our mind, and choose the words that fit it best. So when a teacher explains why a particular word reinforces the imagery of a poem, it might have been a deliberate choice by the poet, or it might have just felt natural. Either way, most of the works students of literature are asked to analyse are successful because of those techniques.

For a writer, literary analysis is a great way to learn about these things, to help you become aware of what you're doing. Like spelling and grammar, once you understand them, you can do them on autopilot, like the mechanics of driving a car. English is full of onomatopoeias, for example, which most of us know and use because they're simply the right word for what we're trying to describe.

I'm not saying every writer needs a degree in literature, or even to use literary techniques, but they let you mine the language to a deeper level. Used properly, language can really enhance the storytelling, from tone and pacing to imagery and connotations.

 

[nice90sguy]

I researched Geishas quite a bit for one of my stories -- despite all the high-class banter and skills in performing arts, they were often to be found in Yoshiwara, the red-light district of Edo, during the Tokugawa shogunate.

The heroine in my story was a Go master and story-teller, who didn't let men touch her -- too classy for all of that. After posting that story I learned that either Laurel doesn't read stories carefully, or that graphic depictions of rape is ok here.