Some day I will perhaps use "V for Vendetta" to illustrate how words itself need context to see what is their "true" meaning.
In the movie, the first few lines of the poem "The Fifth of November" are cited:
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
The purpose of citing these lines were to incite a spirit of rebellion against the neo-fascist regime of the day.
The poem in its original form however is actually meant to DETER people from following Guy Fawkes, i.e., we are meant to remember the Fifth of November so that we would never commit the same treason.
Here is the poem with a few more lines of the original added:
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
Threescore barrels, laid below,
To prove old England's overthrow.
But, by God's providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
Alan Moore and David Lloyd perhaps should be lauded for their genius here in using the same words meant for deterring to inspire rebellion against unjust schemes.
It may be interesting to note that Paul does this in 1 Corinthians as well. The prophetic judgments in the book of Hosea bear the famous words "O Death where is Your Sting?"
In its original form it is meant as a judgment against Israel:
Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes. (Hosea 13:14)
But after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Paul sees these words differently.
He writes in 1 Corinthians:
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:54-57)
Words are always transformed by their context.
In the movie, the first few lines of the poem "The Fifth of November" are cited:
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
The purpose of citing these lines were to incite a spirit of rebellion against the neo-fascist regime of the day.
The poem in its original form however is actually meant to DETER people from following Guy Fawkes, i.e., we are meant to remember the Fifth of November so that we would never commit the same treason.
Here is the poem with a few more lines of the original added:
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
Threescore barrels, laid below,
To prove old England's overthrow.
But, by God's providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
Alan Moore and David Lloyd perhaps should be lauded for their genius here in using the same words meant for deterring to inspire rebellion against unjust schemes.
It may be interesting to note that Paul does this in 1 Corinthians as well. The prophetic judgments in the book of Hosea bear the famous words "O Death where is Your Sting?"
In its original form it is meant as a judgment against Israel:
Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes. (Hosea 13:14)
But after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Paul sees these words differently.
He writes in 1 Corinthians:
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:54-57)
Words are always transformed by their context.
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