Everyone’s heard the nursery rhyme, The Three Blind Mice.
It’s a short and simple rhyming verse about three blind mice who get their
tails chopped off by a farmer’s wife. But, did you ever wonder what might have
happened to the mice that caused them to be blind in the first place, or what
might have happened to them after that bloody incident?
Well, wonder no more. Catherine Lewis answers these, and
many other questions, in a whimsical, imaginative and very informative way, all the while teaching readers about literary concepts. She
takes the story of The Three Blind Mice to a whole new level by creating
an abundance of story matter about these three little rodents and their plight
to explain such concepts as allegory, structure and red herring.
She also includes some terms and concepts I had never heard of, like leitmotif and bildungsroman. Do
you know what those terms mean? I do now, thanks to this delightful and
informative book.
For instance, to explain the concept of “story”, Lewis writes simply: “Three
blind mice ran after the farmer’s wife. She cut off their tales with a carving
knife.” At the bottom of the page, in a section called “Snip of the Tale,”
she adds: “On the most basic level, a sequence of events.” Of course,
many of the terms and concepts in the book require much longer explanations than this, but
regardless, all are very entertaining. She even writes her own “fairy tale” and
“parable” to illustrate each of those concepts.
To explain the term “leitmotif” she writes: “Matilda
Bethoon chop/chop/chops/ slender parsnips. She wields her Ginsu knife with
precision, a steal at $19.95. It’s razor sharp, but neither it nor other
kitchen toys – bamboo steamer, Teflon spoons – can assuage her agitation. She
clenches a bunch of carrots and whacks of their green tops. Chop. Chopchop.
Chopchopchop. An orange chip slaps the floor. Matilda stoops to pick it up.
Yikes! Three mice charge her, trailing their dirty wigglers. ‘Hiyah’ //”/
She explains in the Snip of the Tale: “Something that reoccurs in a work (an
image, object, action, word, phrase, etc.) that tends to unify the work and
establish a theme.” NOTE: She has named the farmer’s wife Matilda Bethoon
and the mice are named Pee Wee, Oscar and Mary.
Lewis also includes an Appendix at the end with each term explained
in greater detail.
This is one of the most entertaining, imaginative, and yet
very informative books about writing that I have ever read. I loved it! The
writing is lively, and the chapters are short, so I was able to finish it at
one sitting. However, I intend to keep a copy of it handy in my office to refer
to when I have a question about a particular literary term.
If you're a writer, run to your nearest library and pick up a copy of this
wonderful book. After you read it, you will probably want your own copy, like I
do.
