·· { Saturday, 31 May } ··

Ye Olde Cuss≡

A savvy discourse on the fixation of sans-swearing — something of a popularly pious decision, if not hit-and-miss on occasion — in many fantasy novels, where gratuitous slang is seldom common:

“Tolkein created this world where people just didn’t seem to swear. Hell, some of them randomly burst out into cheerful, life-affirming song whether you wanted them to or not. And to some extent that was a valid approach. I mean, come on. Gandalf stands defiant before the balrog. He raises his staff above his head then then slams it down, screaming, “Get fucked!” It would detract a little from the mood.”