Candlekeep Forum
Candlekeep Forum
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Active Polls | Members | Private Messages | Search | FAQ
Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Forgotten Realms Journals
 General Forgotten Realms Chat
 Romeo and Juliet in the Realms?
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36804 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2005 :  16:19:16  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
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).

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!

Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Master of Realmslore

1338 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2005 :  18:14:28  Show Profile Send Mumadar Ibn Huzal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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.
Go to Top of Page

Thelonius
Senior Scribe

Spain
730 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2005 :  18:18:31  Show Profile Send Thelonius a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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...

"If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single ideal." - Kreia
"I THINK I JUST HAD ANOTHER NEAR-RINCEWIND EXPERIENCE"- Discworld's Death frustrated after Rincewind scapes his grasp... again.
"I am death, come for thee" - Nimbul, from Baldur's Gate I just before being badly spanked
Sapientia sola libertas est
Go to Top of Page

Mumadar Ibn Huzal
Master of Realmslore

1338 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2005 :  18:24:02  Show Profile Send Mumadar Ibn Huzal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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.
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36804 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2005 :  19:34:56  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

Thelonius
Senior Scribe

Spain
730 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2005 :  19:37:46  Show Profile Send Thelonius a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I can only thing in Rowen Cormaeryl and Princess Tanalasta. Is not the same but it is similar...

"If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single ideal." - Kreia
"I THINK I JUST HAD ANOTHER NEAR-RINCEWIND EXPERIENCE"- Discworld's Death frustrated after Rincewind scapes his grasp... again.
"I am death, come for thee" - Nimbul, from Baldur's Gate I just before being badly spanked
Sapientia sola libertas est
Go to Top of Page

Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader

USA
7106 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2005 :  21:27:48  Show Profile  Visit Rinonalyrna Fathomlin's Homepage Send Rinonalyrna Fathomlin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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.

"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time)
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36804 Posts

Posted - 14 Nov 2005 :  00:53:20  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

KnightErrantJR
Great Reader

USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 14 Nov 2005 :  04:13:13  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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 . . .
Go to Top of Page

Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 14 Nov 2005 :  17:57:53  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"
Go to Top of Page

sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11829 Posts

Posted - 15 Nov 2005 :  21:51:48  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
Go to Top of Page

Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36804 Posts

Posted - 15 Nov 2005 :  22:47:08  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
Go to Top of Page

capheira
Acolyte

USA
18 Posts

Posted - 16 Nov 2005 :  09:00:48  Show Profile  Visit capheira's Homepage Send capheira a Private Message  Reply with Quote
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.
Go to Top of Page

Winterfox
Senior Scribe

895 Posts

Posted - 16 Nov 2005 :  10:16:28  Show Profile  Visit Winterfox's Homepage Send Winterfox a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Capheira? Pssst, use the edit button.
Go to Top of Page
  Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Jump To:
Candlekeep Forum © 1999-2024 Candlekeep.com Go To Top Of Page
Snitz Forums 2000