As an interlude to trailering stuff, I thought I’d offer a couple more “skills” Elise has picked up recently. First, she has Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky pretty much memorized. For some strange reason, this was a kind of Welsh family poem growing up. I remember from an early age (maybe second grade) my brother and sister knowing it and my dad reciting it. I couldn’t forget the thing if I tried. Now Elise — and Danine — have it down. While it’s fun and nonsensical, it also uses a clever language trick: portmanteau words. These are words that pack two (or more) meanings. Carroll coined it, but James Joyce perfected it in Finnegans Wake. Now there’s a book to puzzle over; but make no mistake, it isn’t jibberish. Oh, and it’s most fun when read out loud.
Elise’s other “skill” is liking Shakespeare. As a literature geek, I’m so proud. We saw a high school performance of Much Ado About Nothing (well done) and she was enamored. I gave her the plot summary and she followed the action even though she couldn’t follow the language too much. She understood a lot more than I expected though. Now when she dresses up, she’s Hero instead of one of the ubiquitous Disney princes. Thank goodness. Inspired by her interest, I started to tell her the plots of other Shakespeare plays. I didn’t get too far before I realized there are a number I can’t describe in too much detail (e.g., Macbeth, Othello) without saying stuff like, “anyway he kills him and then she kills herself and then everybody else dies…” Titus Andronicus is out of the question. Actually, I better stick to the comedies.
