T O P I C R E V I E W |
Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 13 Nov 2005 : 16:19:16 I thought I'd ask this question at large, before taking it to Ed...
Though I personally hate the story, I know that in the real world, the tale of Romeo and Juliet is a very popular one (even though Shakespeare (or Bacon) ripped it off from Greek mythology). Knowing that some story concepts are universal, I find myself wondering: is there a Realms equivalent of this story?
This isn't entirely a random musing -- it pertains to an idea I had last night (actually, very early this morning). |
13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
Winterfox |
Posted - 16 Nov 2005 : 10:16:28 Capheira? Pssst, use the edit button. |
capheira |
Posted - 16 Nov 2005 : 09:00:48 Ooops. I guess I hit the wrong button and didn't actually put in any CONTENT. Let's fix that.
I immediately thought of Hero and Leander: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Hero.html
I figure this story could be adapted to the realms EASILY, especially as the girl is a priestess of the goddess of Love and the boy is a warrior from a feuding city. It's got all the elements - secret love, dangerous journeys, tragic death, etc. :)
A quick and dirty point-by-point adaptation, as I am no bard: 1. cities facing each other across a narrow barrier 2. priestess of Sharess was a guard at a tower by the sea; she loved a boy who had been taken from her and shaped into a red wizard by the Thayans and their magics; every night she lit a lamp that turned the tower into a lighthouse which guided her lover to her. 3. thayan wizards had established an enclave in other city, and every night, the wizard would sneak across by means of magic and a small rowboat, and then before dawn he would leave her again by the same means. 4. it would be impossible for them to marry given the situation between the cities, but their desperate love affair continued all summer and until the first frost made wild whips of the waves that bore the young wizard to his love. 5. I quote: "And when one wintry night Leander found himself at sea in the middle of such a windy war, a gust blew out the lamp in Hero's tower, and Leander, being left in the dark without landmarks, lost his way and perished. The day after, Leander's body reached the foot of the tower, and when Hero saw him flayed by the rocks, she teared her robe from round her breasts and cast herself down from the tower, her dead body remaining beside his." 6. priestess' old maid, who had kept their secret all year, entombed their bodies in the tower and sealed it with the sign of Sharess; it's said that at night, the lamp still burns, though the lovers are together now. |
Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 15 Nov 2005 : 22:47:08 quote: Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie
Pyramus and Thisbe, perhaps? Which I believe is in Metamorphoses, by Ovid. Could be wrong on that point. It's been a while.
Yup, those are the two I was referring to. |
sleyvas |
Posted - 15 Nov 2005 : 21:51:48 There were two elven lovers re-arisen as undead near Myth Drannor. I forget their names. It was in a dungeon mag module for 2nd edition a while back.
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 14 Nov 2005 : 17:57:53 quote: Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote: Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote: Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I thought I'd ask this question at large, before taking it to Ed...
Though I personally hate the story, I know that in the real world, the tale of Romeo and Juliet is a very popular one (even though Shakespeare (or Bacon) ripped it off from Greek mythology).
Well, the Greeks had the story because it's so universal; forbidden love exists in real life, so stories about it resurface time and again...just explaining why I don't really like the term "ripped off of". Romeo and Juliet is a good play, but I DO think R&J make a lot of stupid decisions in it.
The reason I used the term "ripped off" is because there's a Greek myth that's very similar to Romeo and Juliet: two lovers, warring families, they run away, the guy mistakeningly thinks the girl is dead and kills himself, then the girl finds her lover's body and kills herself. So it wasn't just forbidden lovers, it was forbidden lovers, running away, and a pair of tragic, stupid deaths.
Pyramus and Thisbe, perhaps? Which I believe is in Metamorphoses, by Ovid. Could be wrong on that point. It's been a while.
This myth story, incidentally, also played within another Shakespeare play: A Midsummer Night's Dream, a kind of pseudo self-mockery. :)
Shakespeare was VERY big on drawing mythology into his stories, as those were the tales that people had heard or read, and were amused to go see retold. Kinda like how we remake classic movies or base films on old novels (adapted novels: Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Rings, remade films Psycho, King Kong, etc.).
And, if one looks, one finds Shakespeare woven into the Realms as well. Dave Gross's story in Realms of the Dragons, for instance, makes extensive use of King Lear -- a Realms version, yes, but same play.
I'm sure R&J has made it into the Realms in some form or another. Can't think of any at the moment, but I'm sure Ed would be all over that.
Cheers |
KnightErrantJR |
Posted - 14 Nov 2005 : 04:13:13 Bah . . . I was always partial to MacBeth myself . . . though I was actually concerned that my step daughter understood so many of the jokes in A Midsummernight's Dream . . . |
Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 Nov 2005 : 00:53:20 quote: Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote: Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I thought I'd ask this question at large, before taking it to Ed...
Though I personally hate the story, I know that in the real world, the tale of Romeo and Juliet is a very popular one (even though Shakespeare (or Bacon) ripped it off from Greek mythology).
Well, the Greeks had the story because it's so universal; forbidden love exists in real life, so stories about it resurface time and again...just explaining why I don't really like the term "ripped off of". Romeo and Juliet is a good play, but I DO think R&J make a lot of stupid decisions in it.
The reason I used the term "ripped off" is because there's a Greek myth that's very similar to Romeo and Juliet: two lovers, warring families, they run away, the guy mistakeningly thinks the girl is dead and kills himself, then the girl finds her lover's body and kills herself. So it wasn't just forbidden lovers, it was forbidden lovers, running away, and a pair of tragic, stupid deaths. |
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 13 Nov 2005 : 21:27:48 quote: Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I thought I'd ask this question at large, before taking it to Ed...
Though I personally hate the story, I know that in the real world, the tale of Romeo and Juliet is a very popular one (even though Shakespeare (or Bacon) ripped it off from Greek mythology).
Well, the Greeks had the story because it's so universal; forbidden love exists in real life, so stories about it resurface time and again...just explaining why I don't really like the term "ripped off of". Romeo and Juliet is a good play, but I DO think R&J make a lot of stupid decisions in it.
quote: Knowing that some story concepts are universal, I find myself wondering: is there a Realms equivalent of this story?
I wouldn't doubt it. |
Thelonius |
Posted - 13 Nov 2005 : 19:37:46 I can only thing in Rowen Cormaeryl and Princess Tanalasta. Is not the same but it is similar... |
Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 13 Nov 2005 : 19:34:56 quote: Originally posted by Thelonius
I think he is referring to someone, a couple that performs the image of a rival families partners... And as long as I am concerned, there is not such a story in the Realms. Of course I could be wrong...
Yup, that's exactly what I'm referring to: a tale of two lovers who couldn't be together because their families couldn't stand each other.
I'm more interested in the story side of it. Not "has this happened in the Realms?" but "is there a common tale like this in the Realms?" If it really happened, that's fine, but I'm just looking to see if it's a widely-known tale. |
Mumadar Ibn Huzal |
Posted - 13 Nov 2005 : 18:24:02 There are similarities... some of the scenes in the Sembia series felt a little like that, and there are hints left and right. In mercantile cities with powerfull merchants, (self-proclaimed) nobility and the like, situations that would resemble the Romeo & Juliet story are likely. |
Thelonius |
Posted - 13 Nov 2005 : 18:18:31 I think he is referring to someone, a couple that performs the image of a rival families partners... And as long as I am concerned, there is not such a story in the Realms. Of course I could be wrong... |
Mumadar Ibn Huzal |
Posted - 13 Nov 2005 : 18:14:28 Do you mean a work of literature (cormyrean, sembian, waterdhavian etc.), of which one copy would likely be in the halls of this keep, or a novel published by those wizards on yonder coast. |
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