Appendix: Notes on Ultimeda
Posted to Poetry
by beatvibe on 2003-02-28 05:51:00
NOTES:
1) The label, "Ultimeda," is generally thought to represent the "ninth ultimatum" and is occasionally referenced as "Ultimeda IX." However, the original work was likely untitled.
2) There are numerous interpretations of "the oily rock." While comprehensive analysis exceeds the scope of this text, the comparison to Bakelite should be unmistakable.
3) In contemporary translations, "...five bleeding stumps" replaces the archaic "...seven bleeding stumps" for clarity.
4) In this context, "troposphere recoiled" is likely interchangeable with "ionosphere rebuked." Either variation implies an ironic euphemism, but the metaphor is most poignant under the troposcopic model, for obvious reasons.
5) "...a chorale of vipers" translates literally as "...[her] asp-infested chorus," but has also been interpreted as "...snakes en unison" or "...herbivorean harmonine" (note the feminine suffix in agreement with the preceding clause, a convention that remains controversial).
6) "...to chant incantations" seems to imply Enoric or possibly Aenoran chants; but almost certainly Inocrastoian, as Semonoliton would have been unknown to the author at the time of this writing.
