Homework October 5: Mal-administration

[David Campbell]

Mal-administration

“That Abbott bloke?” says Malcolm. “A dud, I’d have to say.
I had to bite the bullet and send him on his way,
for we were in deep trouble and heading well off track…
a red dirt road to nowhere, and we weren’t coming back!”

“Now some might say that nowhere is close to somewhere, but
I reckon that opinion just shows you’re off your nut!
And that’s the sort of message the far-right has to learn,
so they’ll just have to trust me, for I’ve got skills to burn!”

“When duty calls, I answer, and with my timeless charm
and well-known ancient wisdom I’ll keep us safe from harm.
These magic stones I’ve purchased will tell me what to do,
so put your faith in Malcolm and I will guide us through!”

© David 21/09/15

[Heather]

There's an awful lot of expectation riding on Malcolm's shoulders isn't there?

[Maureen K Clifford]

Never saw that one coming very innovative use of the prompts David - well done.

[Neville Briggs]

Good one David.

I'll be accused of being picky I suppose but, one question that I've wondered about, is it necessary to use quotation marks to indicate speech when the whole thing is a monologue.
For speech, some contemporary poets don't use the quotation marks, some use single marks, some use the usual double marks, some use a different font for speech. I wonder does this mean that in contemporary practice there is no set convention.

[mummsie]

I like it David.

Your query is a valid one Neville, I have often wondered the same thing. Maybe David can clarify.

Sue

[David Campbell]

Thanks Maureen, Neville and Sue. It's not quite a total monologue, Neville...see the first line. If it had been immediately evident who was speaking I could have made it a monologue and not bothered with the quotation marks. Even then, some writers these days (Tim Winton in his novels, for example) tend to leave out the quotation marks whether it's a monologue or not, but I'm not mad on that idea. It can get confusing, although it's amazing how quickly you adapt when reading. I certainly could have omitted them at the end of the first stanza and beginning of the second (for example), but just thought it was clearer to bung them in.

However, in general terms, things aren't nearly as formalised as they used to be. With traditional rhyming verse I use either the double quotation marks or italics for speech. With short stories I use single quotation marks.

You're right, Heather, there's a lot of expectation. It's a strange situation when the greatest threat comes from a faction inside your own party rather than the Opposition. We live in interesting (and frequently frustrating!) political times.

Cheers
David

[Neville Briggs]

Thanks David.

[Shelley Hansen]

Very clever David - nothing mal-adroit about this verse !! I just love it when you come from left field (or is that far-right???)

Cheers, Shelley

[Shelley Hansen]

That's an interesting point you make, David ...

With traditional rhyming verse I use either the double quotation marks or italics for speech. With short stories I use single quotation marks.

I'd love to know:

Firstly - is there a reason why you prefer single quotation marks rather than double for short stories?

Secondly - what do you use if, within your short story character's speech, he quotes someone else?

Cheers, Shelley

[David Campbell]

Hi Shelley

I use the double quotation marks in rhyming verse simply because it's the more traditional style and I make an assumption about the likely audience. I was taught to use them at school and, as has often been discussed, the audience for this type of verse is mainly older and therefore probably more comfortable with their use. Short stories, however, have a much more diverse readership, so I use the single quotation marks which are much more common these days. I also tend to use these or italics with free verse.

With regard to your second question, the double quotation marks can be useful if you need the single ones to quote someone else inside speech, but if I'm already using single quotation marks then italics are quite handy. This is where I have a problem with those writers who don't use any visual cues for identifying speech. It can be difficult to figure out who's speaking!

Cheers
David