{"id":258,"date":"2020-05-15T04:10:53","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T04:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adventureaday.blog\/?p=258"},"modified":"2020-05-15T04:16:33","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T04:16:33","slug":"lovers-of-words-unite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventureaday.blog\/index.php\/2020\/05\/15\/lovers-of-words-unite\/","title":{"rendered":"Lovers of Words Unite"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I watched a movie tonight that I selected from the many worthy titles on Kanopy, a free streaming site. “The Professor and the Madman” struck me because some of the language was beautiful and poetic. This drama, after all, is about words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I won’t provide a full description of the plot, although I will certainly give accolades for the fine acting by Mel Gibson, Sean Penn and Natalie Dormer. Professor and Madman is based on the true story of James Murray, a lexicologist whose brash ambition to create the Oxford Dictionary nearly tanked until he received an assist from a convicted murderer locked up in an asylum for the criminally insane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean Penn brilliantly portrays Dr. William Chester Minor, who makes you ache inside because he is painfully broken, and decidedly mad, yet delivers tender moments while exhibiting a profound love of language. In real life, Penn is an author and from what I heard in interviews, his “Bob Honey” books contain a rich and playful appreciation of language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, I might pause a film to refill my scotch on the rocks. This time, I paused to reflect on a scene where Penn recites an Emily Dickinson poem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Brain\u2014is wider than the Sky\u2014
For\u2014put them side by side\u2014
The one the other will contain
With ease\u2014and You\u2014beside\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Brain is deeper than the sea\u2014
For\u2014hold them\u2014Blue to Blue\u2014
The one the other will absorb\u2014
As Sponges\u2014Buckets\u2014do\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Brain is just the weight of God\u2014
For\u2014Heft them\u2014Pound for Pound\u2014
And they will differ\u2014if they do\u2014
As Syllable from Sound\u2014 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Emily Dickinson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the film contains many gems in its dialogue, one struck me in particular. Murray sees Minor’s painting of a beautiful woman (Dormer) in his cell and asks, “Who is she?”
“She — is impossible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which made me think that perhaps he wasn’t mad after all, for I have felt that many times, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie is based on the book by Simon Winchester, “The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Professor and the Madman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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