something a bit unconventional here/can we talk about how perfect this song is for gen and irene?

[pysch-colours.livejournal.com]

or: the exploration of the use of different mediums to convey the same (or not) themes.
i'm pretty sure it's been mentioned in the community before, but good lord, "the queen and the soldier" is perfect for them -- irene especially. (needless to say, i'm more than happy that she didn't turn to be like the queen in the song.) 

i have a request, though. can we do a discussion/analysis? because, being the lit nerd i am, i always like discussion/analysis. so the more discussion/analysis, the better, in my humble opinion. :) (no, seriously, this is a thing. the more we talk about something, the more i grow to love it. which explains the exponential increase of my love of the queen's thief books since i joined this group.)

• what, if any, is the meaning of the song? is it just a narrative? or is it symbolic/allegorical? and if so, of what?
• if it is symbolic, what are the symbols? and how do they apply to the queen's thief series?
• in context of the queen's thief series, who is the queen and who is the soldier? is the interpretation of irene as the queen and eugenides as the soldier the only valid one? if so/not, why? could there also be multiple interpretations of the intrinsic meaning of the song? if so, how does each connect to the other (and back to qt again, because sounis is a qt community)?
• how does the use of colour and/or motifs emphasize certain themes? (if it does at all.) does mwt use similar methods?
• do you feel that the death of the soldier is literal? should it be taken literally? and do the feelings of the soldier and the queen apply to a broader population than just these two specific individuals?
• what general atmosphere is evoked through the use of the soft, calm melody of the song? to what end? how does mwt use words to evoke her own atmosphere? again, to what end?
• do you think that, without gen, irene would have ended up like the queen in the song? or would she have "gotten better" eventually?
• in what ways do the other characters resemble the queen? in what ways do they resemble the soldier? why is this?

just some questions i'd personally like to discuss, mostly because i'm interested in how different forms of media tell the same general story (and that's not to say that either the queen and the soldier or the qt series have plagiarised -- but i do think there are similarities worth exploring) in different ways. (which is why i'm definitely not a purist who dislikes seeing movies of the book.) feel free to discuss anything (and obv there's really no wrong answer) or completely crush my hopes and dreams by not responding at all. ;) 

idk i'm one of those people who like to harp on about their favourite books and the devices used to convey certain messages, or talk constantly about connections drawn and...yeah. so this is a little...dabble? in something a little bit new (i mean, we're used to talking about the books, but i don't think we've done something like this?) and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. :)

Comments

[chubbyleng.livejournal.com]

I don't think I can post anything quite coherent at this moment, but I just want to put at least the simplest one-cent I can give.

First of all, the link you gave goes to a baby monkey being given a bath! (I mean, it *is* very cute, but I don't think that was your intention. =P)

Second of all, I found out about this song here in Sounis, actually. I believe it was either recced by someone on a thread, or it was in one of the playlists. I admit it is a beautiful song full of meaning and metaphors; a breath of fresh air from all the repetitive one-word songs we get today (i.e "p-p-p-poker-face p-p-p-poker face.... x 23).

I guess I'm just going to go right out and say that I fail to see the relationship between this song and Gen and Irene. Perhaps I just don't understand some of the underlying messages in the lyrics or I don't see Gen and Irene's relationship in the same way as other Sounisians do. I understand that in this song, there is a young and stone-hearted queen who wages wars, and a soldier who manages to seek her out of the castle walls from which she was hiding. Yes, that does sound very Irene and Gen-like respectively. There are also the little details like the red tapestry (and we know that Irene likes to wear red), and such, but the rest of the motives fall short of the deck.

The queen here says, "I have swallowed a secret burning thread. It cuts me inside, and often I have bled." So yes, we know that she's burdened, but for me, I just don't see how that same burden reflects Irene's. Irene wages wars (how many has she waged, actually?) to subdue her antagonistic barons, but this queen, IMHO, seems to like to watch the world suffer because she is also suffering. It makes her feel better to know she's not the only one. I mean, that's the impression I get; I could be completely off the walls here.

I'm pressed for time, so I'm leaving it at that for now, but I do promise to post more of what I think once I'm free. So uhm, well feel free to disagree btw. ^__^

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

OMG, I just died of the cute! I didn't follow the link before, because I own the song, but THAT is the cutest thing I've seen all week! I want a baby monkey!

I do know what you mean about it being very different. The likeness, for me at least, is that the soldier sees the queen quietly suffering and longing for more and he reaches out her like Gen does. In the song, though, the queen makes a very different choice than Irene.

I think why the queen wages war is left open to our interpretation, but that is an interesting theory.

[pysch-colours.livejournal.com]

whoa okay
i thought i copied the link to tqats
but that was the one i was going to send to a friend
awwwwwkkkkwarrrrrd

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Well, it was a very cute monkey! ;P

In other words, no prob, my dear.

[chubbyleng.livejournal.com]

I KNOW!!!! Did you see the way it held onto that blue stuffed toy for dear life? And in the end when it stuck out its tongue!

Waaah!!! Perfect cheer-me-up on a weekend full of mid-term studying.

[pysch-colours.livejournal.com]

awwww midterms. :( good luck!
it was the most adorable thing ever though. <3 it looked so darned CUDDLY.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

The toy dog clutching killed me with the cute. I want a cute and cuddly baby monkey!

[filkferengi]

I wonder if Gen said the same thing about Costis?

[weg]

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Keh... I can see it now.

Gen: I need a pet.

Irene: I thought you already had a Costis.

Costis: ...

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

Or it would be like this:

Gen: I need a pet.

Irene: You could have one of the hunting hounds.

Gen:....I think I'll have a pet guard instead, thank you all the same!

[filkferengi]

He comes when called [mostly] & is housebroken [mostly?]. [weg]

[pysch-colours.livejournal.com]

i understand what you mean -- and your point is completely valid about the queen watching the world suffer because she's suffering but (ick, there's always a but, isn't there?) for me, i don't think that she likes watching it suffer so much as it is her burden to see it so. if i'm making any sense at all because it's sunday and i stayed up way too late tomorrow.

another reason i connect the queen in the song to irene (tbh though, i only found this song because of a mix for morgana from merlin) is because they're both so lonely and isolated, but they don't want/like to show it. the song mentions that she lives in a palace up on a hill -- that kind of reminds me of an acropolis, in that it's so far above the actual town that the palace in itself is isolated from the rest of the town, as both queens are isolated from people in general.
and to me, gen is the soldier because they both reach out to their respective queens (except, you know. gen gets lucky. the soldier...) the song mentions that the soldier "came knocking upon the queen's door" -- which is symbolic to me (but doesn't have to be because i'm a sucker for symbolism) because it implies that he walks up the hill, he's trying to breach this barrier she's put up around herself. but he doesn't accomplish it -- he's left "on the doorstep" where, gen gets to live in the castle.

or maybe i'm just digging too deep/overthinking this, haha. i have a really bad tendency to do that. whoops. ;)

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

a breath of fresh air from all the repetitive one-word songs we get today (i.e "p-p-p-poker-face p-p-p-poker face.... x 23).

I know what you mean! I have a friend who calls those 7-11 songs. 7 words, 11 times.

I haven't had a chance to check out the song yet, Ill probably be back once I'ver haerd it :)