Illustration for Washingtion Irving’s short story “Rip Van Winkle.” The caption reads: “A termagant wife may, therefore, in some respects, be considered a tolerable blessing, and if so, Rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed.” This illustration by N. C. Wyeth, from a 1921 edition of Irving's story, shows Rip Van Winkle being harrassed by his wife.
One of the signature elements of Irving's style is his use of comically inflated (exaggerated and pompous) language to describe the commonplace. For example, rather than plainly saying Rip is "lazy" or that he "hates work," Irving states that Rip has "an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor."
Assignment: 1. First copy out your assigned passage from this story. 2. Next, translate, as close to word-by-word as possible, this passage into plain, clear, modern English. This technique is called paraphrasing. 3. Try to explain in your own words in one to three sentences why inflated language is comic in effect or what is humorous in the passage you've worked with. Post all this as a comment. Due at 7:30 am on Monday morning, October 3rd. Meanwhile, Shana Tovah!
Passage 1:
"...he was, moreover, a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband. Indeed, to the latter circumstance might be owning that meekness of spirit which gained him such universal popularity, for those men are most apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home" (126).
Passage 2:
"...Their tempers, doubtless, are rendered pliant and malleable in the fiery furnace of domestic tribulation; and a curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and long-suffering. A termagant wife may, therefore, in some respects be considered a blessing, and if so, Rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed" (126).
Passage 3:
"...everything he did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of this kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. This however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife; so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and take to the outside of the house -- the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband" (128).
Passage 4:
"Rip's sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much henpecked as his master; for Dame Van Winkle regarded them as companions in idleness, and even looked upon Wolf with an evil eye, as the cause of his master's going so often astray. True it is, in all points of spirit, befitting an honorable dog, he was as courageous an animal as ever scoured the woods; but what courage can withstand the terrors of a woman's tongue" (128).
Passage 5:
"Having nothing to do at home, and being arrived at that happy age when a man can be idle with impunity, he took his place once more on the bench at the inn door, and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village and a chronicle of the old times "before the war." It was some time before he could get into the regular track of gossip or be made to comprehend the strange events that had taken place during his torpor" (135).
1. "Having nothing to do at home, and being arrived at that happy age when a man can be idle with impunity, he took his place once more on the bench at the inn door, and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village and a chronicle of the old times "before the war." It was some time before he could get into the regular track of gossip or be made to comprehend the strange events that had taken place during his torpor" (135).
ReplyDelete2. Having nothing to do at home, and being old enough to not do work without punishment, he sat on the bench at the inn door again, and was respected by the village as one of the elders and a reminder of the times before the Revolutionary War. It took a while before he got fully back into the community and understood what had happened while he slept.
3. The language was probably very funny due to the overstatement of simple phrases to people around his time but now we just don't get it really, like if you said ancient humor to someone now they wouldn't understand at all.
"...everything he did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of this kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. This however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife; so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and take to the outside of the house -- the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband" (128).
ReplyDeleteAll of Rip’s actions led to an outburst of anger over his lack of household protocol. Rip developed a habitual response to such lectures; he had a combination of quiet movements, such as a shaking of the head and shoulders combined with a downcast glance, but did not speak at all. These reactions were sure to evoke a new lecture from his wife. To avoid these conflicts, Rip gladly went outside of the house, the only true place for an annoying spouse.
I find several things to be comedic in this passage. One funny thing in this is Rip’s reaction to his wife’s lectures. There are not many husbands who would respond to their wives’ in such a way. Another thing in which I find comedic is that Rip decided to ignore what his wife said and just ran away from her. Whenever his wife yelled at him, he would just leave the house.
"...he was, moreover, a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband. Indeed, to the latter circumstance might be owning that meekness of spirit which gained him such universal popularity, for those men are most apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home"
ReplyDeleteHe (Rip Van Winkle) was a kind neighbor, and a loyal husband who was constantly belittled by his wife. Of course, to the latter event actually gave him a compliant spirit, which gave him universal popularity. Because, men who are most likely to be servant like and placate when away from home, are usually under the influence of shrews at home.
Inflated language is really interesting, in the sense that if you don’t understand the words than it is still kind of funny, but if you do understand the words than it is even more humorous because, inflating words is a way of making something that might be completely normal at first glance such as, “ Men who are most likely to be servant like and placate when away from home. And turning into something ridiculous like,” men are most apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad”
"...everything he did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of this kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. This however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife; so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and take to the outside of the house -- the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband" Everything he did was sure to bring a violent response. Rip had one way of reacting to all lectures of this kind, and he used his response so frequently that it became a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, looked upward but didn't say anything. But this response always brought on a new response from his wife so that he was forced to give up and go outside, the only true place for a heckled husband. Washington Irving could have simply stated that Rip ignored his wife but by showing step by step how Rip reacted to her heckling made it much more comical. To imagine his response was funny to me. In addition, rather than just say he would respond and she would quickly shoot him down, Irving cleverly and eloquently wrote that she had a "fresh volley" to get him to shut up. Irving knows how to keep an audience interested and entertained.
ReplyDeletePassage 4
ReplyDelete"Rip's sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much henpecked as his master; for Dame Van Winkle regarded them as companions in idleness, and even looked upon Wolf with an evil eye, as the cause of his master's going so often astray. True it is, in all points of spirit, befitting an honorable dog, he was as courageous an animal as ever scoured the woods; but what courage can withstand the terrors of a woman's tongue" (128).
Rip’s only living family member that stuck by his side was his dog, named Wolf, who received as much criticism as his owner; for Mrs. Van Winkle thought of them as buddies in doing nothing, and even hoped for harm to come upon Wolf, for Wolf was the reason for his owner so often doing morally questionable behavior. It is very true, in all parts of soul emotions, appropriate and normal of an honor worthy dog, he was as daring and adventurous an animal as there ever was that rummaged through the woods, but what courage can remain unaffected through the terrors of a woman’s harsh words.
The humorous part of this passage is that most people think of courage as a trait a dog that is tough-minded and not so affected by small incidents would have. However, in this case, even a courageous dog would lose his courage due to only words from a woman’s mouth. It is putting in a comical way how much henpecking came from Dame Van Winkle.
"...he was, moreover, a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband. Indeed, to the latter circumstance might be owning that meekness of spirit which gained him such universal popularity, for those men are most apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home" (126).
ReplyDelete...Furthermore, Rip was a nice neighbor and a compliant husband, despite being bullied by his wife. Of course, the latter may be the case because of the kind spirit that made him so popular in the village, because men like him have to be obedient and pacificatory despite the criticism from their ill-tempered wives at home.
This passage is basically saying that Rip liked by everybody because of the circumstances he lives with and how he deals with it. Washington probably used the inflated language to exaggerate an obvious statement, that men like Rip need to act the way that Rip does to survive their doomed mariages, so that it seems like a bigger deal than it actually is.
1. "Rip's sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much henpecked as his master; for Dame Van Winkle regarded them as companions in idleness, and even looked upon Wolf with an evil eye, as the cause of his master's going so often astray. True it is, in all points of spirit, befitting an honorable dog, he was as courageous an animal as ever scoured the woods; but what courage can withstand the terrors of a woman's tongue" (128).
ReplyDelete2. Rip Van Winkle’s only friend was his dog named Wolf who was oppressed just as much as his owner because Mrs. Van Winkle considered them to be friends in inactivity, and she also looked upon Wolf with an evil eye as the dog was the major cause of Rip going of the path so often. It is true that in all aspects of spirit, proper to an honest dog, he was one of the bravest animals that ever searched through the woods, but there is no courage that can endure the terror of a woman’s words.
3. Sometimes inflated language, particularly in “Rip Van Winkle,” can add comedic effect. In the specific paragraph that I dealt with, I found the term henpecked quite humorous. The funniest thing about this term is the fact that Rip’s wife would actually oppress a dog. Even though I am not the biggest dog rights advocator, I still am befuddled as to why a grown woman would henpeck a dog.
"...Their tempers, doubtless, are rendered pliant and malleable in the fiery furnace of domestic tribulation; and a curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and long-suffering. A termagant wife may, therefore, in some respects be considered a blessing, and if so, Rib Van Winkle was thrice blessed" (126)
ReplyDeleteTheir tempers, certainly, were flexible and capable of being hammered during their passionate arguments concerning their country’s problems. The last comment was the equivalent of all sermons in the world because it taught the important lessons of patience and long suffering. A brawling wife may, therefore, in some ways be thought of as a gift, and if so, Rip Van Winkle, was greatly blessed.
This all is funny because Washington Irving exaggerates throughout this passage. Exaggeration is funny because it makes people just sound plain old ridiculous and like idiots. He also explains that a termagant wife is a blessing, which makes no sense to me.
Having nothing to do at home, and be at an enjoyable age where a man can be lazy and not do work without it having an effect on his life, he sat down on the bench outside of the inn and continued not to work. He was respected as an elder of the village and was a living reminder of the times before the Revolutionary War. He had to listen to a lot of gossip ad really catch up on things and become up to date on village life.
ReplyDeleteThis humor is not necessarily that funny to me. It was probably humorous to people back then but it’s just exaggeration to me. The author makes overstatements and exaggerates to make things seem funnier because they are out of proportion.
Sendy Gross said...
ReplyDelete"Having nothing to do at home, and being arrived at that happy age when a man
can be idle with impunity, he took his place once more on the bench at the inn door,
and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village and a chronicle of the old
times "before the war." It was some time before he could get into the regular track of
gossip or be made to comprehend the strange events that had taken place during his
torpor" (135).
Rip grew old and decided to rest at his usual place by the inn. He became
known as one of the people who lived “before the war.” It took a while before he was
able to understand some of the changes that occurred during his absence.
"...everything he did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of this kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. This however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife; so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and take to the outside of the house -- the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband"
ReplyDeleteThis means that no matter what Rip did, he was reprimanded. He dealt with this by ignoring it. Doing this always made his wife yell more, which caused him to escape to the far side of the house.
Inflated language can be comical because it tends to make situations seem eloquent, or important. This whole paragraph is just talking about how Rip’s wife yells at him all the time, but from the language it sounds like is talking about something important or extravagant.
“Having nothing to do at home, and being of the age at which a person can do nothing all the time without any negative consequences, he once again sat down in his usual place on the bench by the door of the hotel, and was deeply respected as one of the founding fathers of the village and a history of the old times “before the war.” It was a while before he could keep up with the gossip or understand the strange things that had happened during his hibernation” (135).
ReplyDeleteThe inflated language adds humor because it gives the story more detail. Because it’s meant to be a funny story anyway, the detail as more humor to it. Another way the inflated language adds humor is that we don’t speak that way anymore. It’s funny to us because we think it’s so unusual. If people still spoke like that today, we might not see the language as adding humor to the story.
"...everything he did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of this kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. This however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife; so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and take to the outside of the house -- the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband" (128).
ReplyDelete"...everything he did was sure to produce a outburst of household fluency. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of this kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, threw up his eyes, but said nothing. This however, always produced a fresh outburst from his wife; so that he was forced to take from his forces, and take outside of the house -- the only side which, in truth, belongs to a timid husband" (128).
I think the the inflated language is comic because we are so used to hearing normal English and with older English it sounds weird. Try to convert the older words to modern English was tricky because so of the words may not have the same meaning as they do today.
Original: "...he was, moreover, a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband. Indeed, to the latter circumstance might be owning that meekness of spirit which gained him such universal popularity, for those men are most apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home" (126).
ReplyDeleteParaphrased: ".....he was, moreover, a kind neighbor and obedient but often criticized by his wife at home. Indeed, the second description might be saying that his compliancy gained him such universal popularity, because those men who are most servile and win over favor abroad are under the discipline of their violently tempered wives at home."
In this passage, inflated language helps describe the lives of both Rip and Dame Van Winkle in a comical way. If it simply said that Dame Van Winkle bullies her husband, then people would not be inclined to read on. The inflated language helps paint a more vivid picture of the exposition of the story in the mind of the reader.
He was moreover a kind neighbor and obedient, but was often given orders from his wife at home. Indeed, the last description might be indicating that his obedience gained him universal popularity, for those men that are used to being excessively attentive and making peace with people abroad are under the discipline of their bad-tempered wives at home.
ReplyDeleteInflated language can make a story funny, because sometimes if a harsh word is used, then a character might seem rude and will be disliked by the reader. Inflated language can make situations more vivid to the reader, thereby making it seem funny.
"Having nothing to do at home, and being arrived at that happy age when a man can be idle with impunity, he took his place once more on the bench at the inn door, and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village and a chronicle of the old times "before the war." It was some time before he could get into the regular track of gossip or be made to comprehend the strange events that had taken place during his torpor" (135).
ReplyDelete- He was bored at home, and he was at an age where he wouldn't bear a consequence for his actions, he went to the inn and sat on his bench in front of the door. To the village, he was known as the patriarch of the village and the account of the village before the war times. It took him some time before he understand the new gossip and what had happened with he was 'sleeping.'
- The inflated language is rather comical. I think since we don't speak this way anymore, when Irving uses inflated, fancy language in place of common words it's humorous.
Rebecca Davis said...
ReplyDeleteRip's sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much henpecked as his master; for Dame Van Winkle regarded them as companions in idleness, and even looked upon Wolf with an evil eye, as the cause of his master's going so often astray. True it is, in all points of spirit, befitting an honorable dog, he was as courageous an animal as ever scoured the woods; but what courage can withstand the terrors of a woman's tongue" (128).
Rip’s only household correspondent was his dog Wolf, who was just as intimidated by his wife as his master is, because Dame Van Winkle regarded them as partners in joblessness, and even looked at Wolf like a plague, as the cause of his master’s going so often off course. It is true, in all points of spirit, fits an honorable dog, he was the bravest of animals that ever battered the woods; but what bravery can stand up against the terror of a woman’s speech.
In the first sentence, the inflated language makes it seem as if the dog is actually just like his master. She describes the dog as “henpecked.” Usually dogs aren’t scared of people as their owners are. She also says that Rip and his dog are both idle. Now this is meant to be comical because, as we all know, dogs can’t and never will get jobs as people do. It is also humorous when it says that no one can withstand the terrors of a woman’s tongue. This is implying that what a woman says to you can be dangerous and you wouldn’t survive when she got angry with you. We all know that these things are not true. They were exaggerated so the reader would keep staying interested in the story and not have to read a story that drones one and one spouting lines that don’t help you imagine what is going on in the story.
"...Their tempers, doubtless, are rendered pliant and malleable in the fiery furnace of domestic tribulation; and a curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and long-suffering. A termagant wife may, therefore, in some respects be considered a blessing, and if so, Rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed" (126).
ReplyDeleteTheir [wives] tempers are no doubt made more flexible and bendable in the "oven" which is their daily housework. Every time a wife screams at her husband it's like the equivalent of a bunch lengthy sermon and a person who goes through that becomes patient and can deal with anything. Because a nagging wife can teach a husband so many good things, then Rip Van Winkle is especially blessed because his wife was all that and then some.
I don't think this is very funny. It's totally biased and it's just weird humor. Haha, your wife is annoying. But it is very exaggerated and sarcastic which is okay, I suppose. Obviously he really hates his wife. This is probably because he's extremely lazy. All I can think of is that I would hate to be his wife more than he would hate me as a wife.
"Rip's sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much henpecked as his master; for Dame Van Winkle regarded them as companions in idleness, and even looked upon Wolf with an evil eye, as the cause of his master's going so often astray. True it is, in all points of spirit, befitting an honorable dog, he was as courageous an animal as ever scoured the woods; but what courage can withstand the terrors of a woman's tongue" (128).
ReplyDeleteRip's only companion was his dog, who was bothered just as much as he was because Dame Van Winkle saw them as companions in laziness. She even saw Wolf as Rip's cause of laziness. Even though this was partly true, Wolf was a loyal dog who was corageous while hunting, but was afraid of Dame's scolding.
The inflated language gives this passage a comical tinge. It makes it seem like the dog persuaded Rip to ignore his work. It also says that as corageous as Wolf was, a womans 'tongue' was the worst thing he encountered.