The Real Life of Sebastian
Knight
1."He even seems to approve of the title Cock Robin Hits Back,
though Clare doesn't.'
'I think it sounds silly,' said Clare, 'and besides, a bird can't
hit.'"
2
"Mr Siller makes his bow[...] the Adam's apple 'moving like the
bulging shape of an arrased eavesdropper', the brown eyes, the wine-red veins on
the big strong nose..."
3. " A
robinsonnada — a marrvellous trick."
A friend gave me a marvellously funny musical recording of Adam de
la Halle (1230-1288), "Le Jeu de Robin et Marion."
Adan d'Arras (as he was also called) started his
work "during the decline of knightly ritual and the refinements of courtly
love." and was one of the forerunners of musical comedy, in the line of
jongleurs and meinstrels (data obtained from the leaflet accompanying the
CD).
A sample of the Balladelle:
"Bergeronnette douce baisselete
Donnés le moi votre
capelet.
Robin veus tu que je le mete
Suer ten kief par amourete
M'en iert il mieus se je li met."
(Little shepherdess, sweet damsel,
Yield your garland to me.
Robin do you want me to push it
Over your head as a proof of love
It would be preferable if I took charge
of that)
We have a Mr.Nosebag in Knight's parodies, contorsionists,
magicians. One of his creations has an Adam's apple...an
arrased eavesdropper". The proximitiy of the underlined words
is suggestive of Knight's title "Cock Robin Hits Back" and Adan
d'Arras comedy about Robin and Marion - but it's merely a
coincidence... As B.Boyd noted "arrased eavesdropper" refers to Hamlet,
III,iii.28, where we encounter Polonius hiding befind the
arras.
And yet, I think VN would have enjoyed it and the malicious play
and its "balladelle".