What the Dickens
It falls to my lot to write little front-page capsules for The Sun, directing readers to articles of interest inside the paper. Last night, one of the likelier-looking ones was John Fritze’s article explaining that veteran congressman Roscoe Bartlett of Western Maryland had made clear his intention to run for re-election in his remapped district. I summarized that and, for the boldface lead-in, wrote: BARTLETT IS WILLING.
Today I learn from Mr. Fritze that a number of readers wrote to him to say that the allusion to Dickens* had gladdened their hearts.
It’s just a little thing, but it illustrates what must be done to make an allusion effective. The allusion must work on its own, not depending on the reader’s catching an echo. For the reader who does, the allusion is an additional treat, a lagniappe.
*For the non- Dickens-inclined: In David Copperfield, the minor character Barkis expresses his matrimonial interest in Peggotty by saying, “Barkis is willin’.”
Comments
Thanks, John. I've been trying to teach this in our newsroom for years, with varying success. This is a perfect example.
Posted by: Dick Moss | January 12, 2012 5:05 PM
I wrote a front-page headline on tryouts for the Ohio State University mascot, calling the competition to choose the next Brutus Buckeye a search for "the noblest nut of them all." *
I never heard of any gladdened hearts, but I will continue to believe they were out there.
* Julius Caesar, Act 5, scene 5 (http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/noblest-roman-them-all)
Posted by: Mark Allen | January 12, 2012 5:20 PM
And another favorite, seen here in print for the first time because it was cruelly changed before publication. On a story about a home economics class that invited parents in to learn the art of needlework from their children: "As they sew, so shall they teach."
Too much of a stretch?
Posted by: Mark Allen | January 12, 2012 5:25 PM
Prof. McI.,
What I'm about to offer is hardly as pithy, succinct, or clever as your "Bartlett is willing'. Yet in it's own ham-handed, wordy way one might argue that my effort adds perhaps another layer of metaphor, as it were. (Or maybe not?)
Mine might need a tad more pith, and a little less ham? =)
Here goes nuttin';:
----Familiar Bartlett quotes*, " I'm willing."
Or even sillier, BARTLETT is willing, but ANJOU and BOSC are not. (Groan. That last one was for the pear enthusiasts in our audience.)
* Of course, I'm alluding here to the renowned Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, first published back in 1855, still relevant and going strong to this very day.
Well, that's all I got...... for now.
ALEX
Posted by: ALEX MCCRAE | January 12, 2012 6:22 PM
A Huffington Post headline just today:
"So Long, and Thanks for All the Pork"... I'm a big fan of Hitchhiker's Guide....
Posted by: Nenya | January 12, 2012 6:36 PM