Story Based on a Poem

[psychotick]

Hi,

I know, I should be writing Mage. But I got side tracked as so often happens to me, and suddenly remembered the poem by Yeats - The Second Coming. You know the one - beasts slouching towards Bethlehem while things fall apart and the centre cannot hold.

The thing is I quite like the poem - though mostly as a vision of the second coming / end of days etc. I know a lot of people have other interpretations of it. And it occurred to me that it would make a great kick off point for a novel. In fact you could divide the poem up into its lines, and make each one a chapter heading, and end up with a pretty interesting doomsday book.

So my questions are: Has anyone done this before? And I can't see copyright being an issue since it's Yeats (he died in 1939 so life plus 70 years gets us to 2109), but any thoughts on that? (The poem was written in 1920.)

Cheers, Greg.

 

[chrispenycate]

"What rough Beast" by Damon Knight?

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Thanks. Hadn't heard of it before. Googling now.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[The Judge]

The one drawback I can think of -- which I know I would undoubtedly fall into -- is that you might tell a less effective story by adhering so closely to the lines, and end up with the tail wagging the dog. Otherwise it sounds a neat idea.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I know. But I have a plot in mind that sort of follows this particular poem. There might however have to be a little literary licence taken.

Happy New Year by the way.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[tinkerdan]

I don't see this so much a problem of the tail wagging the dog with something that is open to so much interpretation; and if the tail was wagging anything it would be some bizarre hydra dog with each mouth snapping at the tail in voracious attempts at freeing itself.