| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: majesty of this dripping Babylon of elder daemons, and must have
guessed without guidance that it was nothing of this or of any
sane planet. Awe at the unbelievable size of the greenish stone
blocks, at the dizzying height of the great carven monolith, and
at the stupefying identity of the colossal statues and bas-reliefs
with the queer image found in the shrine on the Alert, is poignantly
visible in every line of the mates frightened description.
Without
knowing what futurism is like, Johansen achieved something very
close to it when he spoke of the city; for instead of describing
any definite structure or building, he dwells only on broad impressions
Call of Cthulhu |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Market-Place by Harold Frederic: He had not been prepared, however, for the fact that it
was the American who played the part of hostess.
It was she who received him, and invited him to sit down,
and generally made him free of the apartment. When he
shook hands with Lady Cressage, there was somehow an effect
of the incidental in the ceremony, as if she were also a guest.
Nothing could have been simpler or more pleasing
than the little visit turned out to be. Miss Madden
had suddenly grown tired of the snowless and dripping
English winter, and had as promptly decided to come
to Switzerland, where the drifts ought to be high enough,
The Market-Place |
