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| re: Quick point: just on the grammar... | |
| Posted by: Quicheo 02:53 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Quick point: just on the grammar... - Michael_Portantiere 01:25 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
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| Really? Does Higgins seem to you to be an internally consistent, free from hypocrisy, self-possessed fellow? Is there not more than a hint of suggestion that he may hold others to a higher standard than he holds himself? Are we not all guilty of the same to greater or lesser degrees? Is this not part of the appeal of this and many other shows, to provide a mirror to our own humanity, grammatical errors and all? |
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| re: Quick point: just on the grammar... | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 03:49 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Quick point: just on the grammar... - Quicheo 02:53 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
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| "Does Higgins seem to you to be an internally consistent, free from hypocrisy, self-possessed fellow? Is there not more than a hint of suggestion that he may hold others to a higher standard than he holds himself? Are we not all guilty of the same to greater or lesser degrees? Is this not part of the appeal of this and many other shows, to provide a mirror to our own humanity, grammatical errors and all?" I think your interpretation is 100 percent valid, even though I don't personally agree with it. Regardless, although of course I can't say for sure what was in Lerner's head, I strongly doubt that he intentionally had Higgins make SO MANY grammatical errors in the lyrics of MY FAIR LADY as a way of purposely pointing out that Higgins may hold others to a higher standard than he holds himself. That's a very charitable interpretation on your part, and I think you're giving Lerner too much credit. I suspect the truth is that Lerner himself was extremely sloppy in regard to correct grammar and usage, presumably because he never learned and/or never digested many of the rules -- and that includes rules that I would hope ALL of us can agree on, such as "If I were..." (correct) rather than "If I was..." (incorrect), along with the debatable ones, such as the one about split infinitives. |
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| If you mean "A Hymn to Him," it's not Lerner's fault | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 10:15 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Quick point: just on the grammar... - Michael_Portantiere 03:49 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
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| "and that includes rules that I would hope ALL of us can agree on, such as 'If I were...' (correct) rather than 'If I was...' (incorrect),," In the published script and published score, it is consistently "were" where it should be. Harrison gets one of them wrong on both the OBCR and the OLCR, and Ian Richardson gets all of them wrong. They both also start with "What in all of Heaven can have prompted her to go?" instead of "What in all of Heaven could have prompted her to go?" |
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| re: If you mean "A Hymn to Him," it's not Lerner's fault | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 11:39 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
| In reply to: If you mean "A Hymn to Him," it's not Lerner's fault - AlanScott 10:15 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
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| Interesting, thanks! | |
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| re: If you mean "A Hymn to Him," it's not Lerner's fault | |
| Posted by: Quicheo 10:13 pm EDT 04/04/21 | |
| In reply to: re: If you mean "A Hymn to Him," it's not Lerner's fault - Michael_Portantiere 11:39 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
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| Sidebar again: The writers on Cheers and Frasier consistently had a similar problem--Kelsey Grammer's background and education were not as grammar-intensive as his character's and that, coupled with the actor's preference for little rehearsal, led to some whoppers to deal with in the editing suite. Thank you, Alan, for that information. It add another dimension to this discussion. |
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