The Rewriting of
Eagle and th' Fiv' Eggs
(Episode 2)
This writing was thenceforth accomplished after 6-8 months of ruthless hardship. But the great thing about it, the writing was gifted. The first accomplishment was in 1998.
As typewritten, it was recorded at 10:45AM, 27th July 1998. It is about 23 years 4 months gap, as of this very writing - 10:23PM 25th November 2021.
Until at this moment, I am still surprised from where actually I got this idea. But to be sure, I got it from a dream earlier. Circa December 1997. Although the dreams had just run about 4-5 hours after Isyak, or even 9 PM, it was another dream after Fatal Instinct - the lost 413 pages novel (of which was my first attempt in writing).
Frankly speaking, I am not a master of English. Nor an excellent student. I failed my GCE O'Level English or 1119 English back in 1990. And just a BAND 4 in my MUET examination, later, during diploma studies in 2009. But, this mastery of writing in the English language for me is gifted. Because why? Because I learnt it through repetitive dreams. Only that, the dream about Eagle and th' Fiv' Eggs itself was in Malay.
*
There might be few idioms and proverbs in the literature, Eagle and th' Fiv' Eggs. The metric verses that represent the dialogues are mostly not repeated iambic and trochaic lines, but randomly arranged like:
̸ ‿ ̸ ‿ ‿ ‿ ̸ ‿ ̸ ‿
Caesarea: “Felicitating for someone’s glory~ [20]
̸ ‿ ̸ ‿ ‿ ‿ ‿ ̸ ̸ ‿
Very interesting, while eye’s clipping,
̸ ̸ ‿ ̸ ̸ ‿ ̸ ‿ ‿ ‿
List’d but to leave one in adversity,
‿ ̸ ̸ ‿ ‿ ̸ ‿ ̸ ‿ ‿
‘Snot quite well-meaning, none the well-meaning,
‿ ‿ ̸ ‿ ‿ ̸ ‿ ̸ ‿ ̸
It is worthier if I behold inside.”
(Eagle and th' Fiv' Eggs ACT I, Scene 1: lines 20-24)
For action-packed circumstances, sick (like Solania at the hospital), the verses are shortened, or even asymmetrical, and mostly unrhymed. Also the prosaic songs like Honey (IF W.042), Thy Love (IF W.013), and A Better Life After Tomorrow (IF W.002). A semicolon is used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought. When a semicolon is used to join two or more ideas (parts) in a sentence, those ideas are then given equal position or rank. But in Eagle and th' Fiv' Eggs, the use of semicolons vary like:
a PAUSE:
Thee, sweet lady; if I'm to be the base o' aids, [ACT I, Scene 1; line 27]
a DESCRIPTION/DIRECTION:
Medescri’d this lone car; arear (arear = behind) [ACT I, Scene 2; line 26]
O' these fiv' eggs; gloss the oblong shells, [ACT I, Scene 3; line 32]
Pitilessly speechless; tho' tiddly [ACT I, Scene 3; line 58]
as TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES:
Neglecting her just; my loath shy [ACT I, Scene 2; line 38]
The term -ly which when is added to an adjective thus becomes an adverb is also used. Further, it functions as stressing the adjective (like oft-fully (often full of), for the purpose of rhyming (like tho' tiddly (tiddle)). There are also abstract 2 words combined like me-financial which means to me financially [ACT I, Scene 4; line 26]. Other than that is transforming nouns to adjectives/adverbs like purlieus to purlieusly.
Many archaic words are used like pray = please, kisser = mouth, thou (you = 2nd person singular), ye (you = plural), thy/thine (your), ere = before, behold (see/see from a distant), firmament/welkin (sky), hath (has), mater (mother), quick (alive), list = want or like, apace (quick or fast), yea/aye (yes), ayely (always), mere/merely = only, oft = often, morn = morning, phantastic = fantastic, repast = meal/food, betimes = early, anon = soon, wherefore, forsooth, etc.
The use of apostrophes' in conjunctions, words, adjectives/adverbs are many. Their purposes are to omit certain sentences to equalize the metric between lines/2 lines. Such as i' = if/in, o' = of/on, 'ther = other, 'gain = again, 'yond = beyond, th' = the, 't = it, fiv' (pron. five) = five, e'en = even, e'er = ever, aug'r = augur, lum'nary = luminary, to unstress/silence the -ed in verbs/adj/adv/nouns like advert'd = adverted, 's can also be was like accused's = accused was, when's = when was
Other than English, there are French sentences as well in some lines. This is simply to create some impression upon the readers or audiences.
The third protagonist character, Jannequin was a French man. A French nobleman actually. The antagonist Ravioli was also a mixed-blood character; Javanese-Malay. Meanwhile, the second protagonist character, Solania, was Dutch-Malay mixed blood.
*
ACT I Scene III: original typewritten script
People are born, bred, and nurtured with various educations and experiences. Me too. I was nurtured not only to work hard, courteously, responsible, faithful, honest but also to use as much cleverness I can draw from my mind to live like other people. I read and memorized the whole Fajar English-Malay dictionary when I was still in form 1 (1986). A year before that, my mother sent me to typing school in Parit Raja, Ayer Hitam, Johore. I had hardly excelled in typewriting (beginner and advanced), with the speed of 78 W.P.M. And 2 months thereafter, taking a course in shorthand.
So English and typewriting are just like natural to me. Meanwhile English is just like a mother tongue. Conversation at home was also conducted in English. My understanding of English grew with varieties of reading. When I was in standard five primaries, I read the biography of J.F. Kennedy and Mahatma Gandhi. I had also finished all episodes of Hardy Boys and Enid Blyton books. Especially The Fat and Inspector Goon. In form 1, I read Adolph Hitler, Idaho, and Sherlock Holme's series. By form 5, high school, I studied Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe. My favorite book was Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet. But until now, I still could not memorize any of the beautiful lines 😆
But as I have said earlier, because of the repetitive dreams, I could plan and write in English. And as of today, 27th November 2021, I am retyping Part II of Eagle and th' Fiv' Eggs.
