Philosophy Now Forum

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

marjoram_blues wrote:

Hobbes' Choice wrote:
Stupid twat. I suggest you read back what has been written.

Clearly YOU are that fucking stupid.

U r so good at being Hobbsy.
Never mind. If you can't listen properly that is your misfortune. If you can listen carefully and choose to misrepresent what is said in a clip, then bugger off.

The record of the conversation speaks for itself.

Any fool can tell Burton was responding in an interview and it was not part of any film, not part of any poem.

Hmmm, Hobbsy. You sound...excited...
G'night.

He's not reciting anybody; he's just holding forth at an audience, as perhaps a middle-aged, famous poet might be expected to do.
I have no idea, but if it's from a movie, that seems more likely than Virginia Wolf, and the bright red jumper was wrong for Brief Encounter or Masada.

marjoram_blues wrote:

Walker wrote:I think it’s from the documentary itself and not a movie or published poem.

From what I read, Burton tells the story that he, Dylan Thomas, and someone else were having a conversation and the topic of the greatest poem arose. The words that Burton recites are Thomas’ contribution, and it sounds like he just spoke them off the cuff. Burton declared it the greatest poem.

He does a good job of selling it.

That’s all I found after a brief search. Might be true, might be false.

?

Well, that sounds good to me. Impressive after a 'brief' search. Where did you find it, pray tell ?

“Burton was fond of storytelling and would frequently rhapsodise about Thomas and other poets of his acquaintance such as Louis MacNeise. On one occasion they were drinking together after a BBC recording session. Thomas asked those present what they considered to be the most powerful and moving piece of poetry in the English language.

“Burton recited a soliloquy from Shakespeare – possibly ‘to be or not to be’ from Hamlet. MacNeice offered up some of his own poetry. Thomas silenced them both.

“‘This,’ he said, ‘is the best poem in the English language,’ and then spoke the following lines:

“I am.
Thou art.
He, she, it is.
We are.
You are.
They are.

“Sixty years later it is impossible to argue with the purity of his choice. Burton knew it, too: he told that story until the end of his days.”

Under Milkwood revisited: The Wales of Dylan Thomas
By Mark Davis, Tony Earnshaw

https://books.google.com/books?id=YKqlB ... &q&f=false

*

Non-duality. The designation of each pronoun simply is, rather than simply is something else, as in, what do you mean?

Skip wrote:He's not reciting anybody; he's just holding forth at an audience, as perhaps a middle-aged, famous poet might be expected to do.
I have no idea, but if it's from a movie, that seems more likely than Virginia Wolf, and the bright red jumper was wrong for Brief Encounter or Masada.

Skip wrote:I have no idea

What, you didn't read my first posting in the thread?

Walker wrote:

marjoram_blues wrote:

Walker wrote:I think it’s from the documentary itself and not a movie or published poem.

From what I read, Burton tells the story that he, Dylan Thomas, and someone else were having a conversation and the topic of the greatest poem arose. The words that Burton recites are Thomas’ contribution, and it sounds like he just spoke them off the cuff. Burton declared it the greatest poem.

He does a good job of selling it.

That’s all I found after a brief search. Might be true, might be false.

?

Well, that sounds good to me. Impressive after a 'brief' search. Where did you find it, pray tell ?

“Burton was fond of storytelling and would frequently rhapsodise about Thomas and other poets of his acquaintance such as Louis MacNeise. On one occasion they were drinking together after a BBC recording session. Thomas asked those present what they considered to be the most powerful and moving piece of poetry in the English language.

“Burton recited a soliloquy from Shakespeare – possibly ‘to be or not to be’ from Hamlet. MacNeice offered up some of his own poetry. Thomas silenced them both.

“‘This,’ he said, ‘is the best poem in the English language,’ and then spoke the following lines:

“I am.
Thou art.
He, she, it is.
We are.
You are.
They are.

“Sixty years later it is impossible to argue with the purity of his choice. Burton knew it, too: he told that story until the end of his days.”

Under Milkwood revisited: The Wales of Dylan Thomas
By Mark Davis, Tony Earnshaw

https://books.google.com/books?id=YKqlB ... &q&f=false

*

Non-duality. The designation of each pronoun simply is, rather than simply is something else, as in, what do you mean?

Well found. Perhaps, I need a new search engine I'm not feeding it effectively...

Yeah, what's that saying, the right question is half the right answer.

In the looking around I came across the observation that Burton’s orations cannot compare to Dylan Thomas’.

I’ve never heard Thomas speak.
But I know Burton is amazing.

I think I'll savor the ignorance for awhile.

Walker wrote:
I think I'll savor the ignorance for awhile.

It suits you.

It’s an chance to hear
With an unbiased ear

Walker wrote: What, you didn't read my first posting in the thread?

No - why should I?
It wasn't your question to which I was guessing the answer.
In any case, the assertion: "This is the greatest poem in the English language..." , no matter which self-important blowhard said it first, in no matter how sonorous a stage declamation, is damn silly. One of those pseudo-profound insights people like to repeat.

Because, when you know the truth, the truth will set you free.

Personally, I’m still enslaved to ignorance of Dylan Thomas’ dramatic reading skills.

Is it true that Thomas is a superior orator to Burton?

Neither. Cicero was. Who gives a damn?

Walker wrote:Because, when you know the truth, the truth will set you free.

Personally, I’m still enslaved to ignorance of Dylan Thomas’ dramatic reading skills.

Is it true that Thomas is a superior orator to Burton?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2cgcx-GJTQ
I can't believe how old he sounds. He died at 39. Burton was an actor. Thomas a poet. You can't really compare them.

Skip wrote:Neither. Cicero was. Who gives a damn?

Thread topic: Name that film in one …

Clue: "Who gives a damn?"

Film answer:
The Mask
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JERYbkdm0oc

*

Commentary:

The act of attention directs awareness, and anywhere awareness alights becomes the default "giving of a damn."

The quality and integrity of the act relates to intent and purpose.

In other words, something becomes important just because one does it, thus everything one does is important. How one reacts to that importance, such as not caring about it, or meeting that importance with sincere integrity, is a separate issue.

Q:

Is it true that Thomas is a superior orator to Burton?

A :

Skip wrote:Neither. Cicero was. Who gives a damn?

(addendum: all three dead guys whom very few living persons remember.)

to which your response what it was

As distinct from :

Thread topic: Name that film in one …

Skip wrote: (addendum: all three dead guys whom very few living persons remember.)

Any educated person would. 'Remember' is not really the right word. You wouldn't say 'I remember Julius Caesar' (unless someone is a couple of thousand years old and actually encountered him in person.