You were a bit tentative there with the HTML, deciding to add some then dithering about it and getting it all wrong! ;-)
Dipping your toe in the water to see how cold it is before getting in - that's tentative behaviour, as apposed to jumping right in. Hence someone's behaviour can look tentative, including a goat. And another example...
tentative behavior (use of html, dip into a territory) is one thing, but i've never thought things as substantive as goats could be tentative. so, just 'uncertain'?
Think of a cat walking into a room it's never been in before. It knows what it's doing, so not uncertain about it, but it is being tentative, in case it proves to be a dangerous move.
Hmmm. I'd say somewhere between cautious and uncertain!
while we are at it, maybe you will explain to me a few things in this poem? if you wish, and when you have a spare moment:
by Thomas Hardy
WE stood by a pond that winter day, And the sun was white, as though chidden of God, And a few leaves lay on the starving sod, --They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove Over tedious riddles solved years ago; And some words played between us to and fro-- On which lost the more by our love.
The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing Alive enough to have strength to die; And a grin of bitterness swept thereby Like an ominous bird a-wing....
Since then, keen lessons that love deceives, And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree, And a pond edged with grayish leaves
*On which lost the more by our love.* i can understand "on which lost the more our love", but what BY does there? *keen lessons that love deceives* keen lessons that love insinuates (teaches by deceit?) *And wrings with wrong* insinuates wrong things?
them - lovers? so, the meaning would be: some words played between us to and fro-- which made us feel lost, the more so thanks to our love?
i understand that there is some sloppy grammar in this; but it's funny that your interpretation did not occur to me, although it very much flows out of the rest of the poem. that's because i, doubting my knowledge of the english language, start wondering about the formal grammar as soon as i run into a problem - instead of using intuition and relying on fuzzy logic. it's a typical problem with foreign languages that never become quite familiar, we discussed it with emma loy just a few days ago. still, i don't understand how that line could be justified, grammatically.
*keen lessons that love deceives*
I would think it means he's learnt that love deceives.
and in this case i missed the obvious grammatical meaning!
Don't worry about getting that wrong, as my first interpretation ignored the obvious too. I originally thought it meant lessons you'd learnt were deceived by love. ie., overturned, or some such. And I almost posted that, then realised it could be read more literally.
I would think poetry is especially difficult for those learning the language it's written in, with 100-year-old poetry doubly so. The poet assumes the reader is well-versed in the language of the day, though 100 years on that mightn't be the case.
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Date: 2008-09-25 09:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-09-27 05:37 am (UTC)Dipping your toe in the water to see how cold it is before getting in - that's tentative behaviour, as apposed to jumping right in. Hence someone's behaviour can look tentative, including a goat. And another example...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071902668.html
American reporters it seems, are very subtle detectors of tentativeness, it seems!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-27 08:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-27 10:37 am (UTC)Hmmm. I'd say somewhere between cautious and uncertain!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-27 11:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-29 06:39 am (UTC)by Thomas Hardy
WE stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod,
--They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles solved years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro--
On which lost the more by our love.
The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
Like an ominous bird a-wing....
Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree,
And a pond edged with grayish leaves
*On which lost the more by our love.*
i can understand "on which lost the more our love", but what BY does there?
*keen lessons that love deceives*
keen lessons that love insinuates (teaches by deceit?)
*And wrings with wrong*
insinuates wrong things?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-02 10:40 am (UTC)Their love caused them to be lost even more?
*keen lessons that love deceives*
I would think it means he's learnt that love deceives.
*And wrings with wrong*
Not insinuates. 'wrings' suggests the wrong is wrung into something, by love in this case.
I wouldn't take my word for it though! (My first attempt had a revision as soon as I'd written it;)
[This comment brought to you by the holiday email catchup daemon!]
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-06 07:00 am (UTC)Their love caused them to be lost even more?|||
them - lovers? so, the meaning would be:
some words played between us to and fro--
which made us feel lost, the more so thanks to our love?
i understand that there is some sloppy grammar in this; but it's funny that your interpretation did not occur to me, although it very much flows out of the rest of the poem. that's because i, doubting my knowledge of the english language, start wondering about the formal grammar as soon as i run into a problem - instead of using intuition and relying on fuzzy logic. it's a typical problem with foreign languages that never become quite familiar, we discussed it with emma loy just a few days ago.
still, i don't understand how that line could be justified, grammatically.
*keen lessons that love deceives*
I would think it means he's learnt that love deceives.
and in this case i missed the obvious grammatical meaning!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-06 09:54 am (UTC)Don't worry about getting that wrong, as my first interpretation ignored the obvious too. I originally thought it meant lessons you'd learnt were deceived by love. ie., overturned, or some such. And I almost posted that, then realised it could be read more literally.
I would think poetry is especially difficult for those learning the language it's written in, with 100-year-old poetry doubly so. The poet assumes the reader is well-versed in the language of the day, though 100 years on that mightn't be the case.