Hi Sue,
At the end of chapter "Sounds" in Walden, paragraph 15, I have read this sentence: "They would begin to sing almost with as much precision as a clock, within five minutes of a particular time, referred to the setting of the sun, every evening." My understanding of the sentence is a bit dim and I will appreciate it if you could kindly help me understand it better. What I do not perfectly understand is the phrase "of a particular time". In fact, I don't find myself able to parse this part of the sentence : "within five minutes of a particular time, referred to the setting of the sun, every evening." Would it perhaps be possible for you to parse it or even paraphrase it for me?
Thanks in advance for your precious help.
T
2 comments:
Hi Ali,
The main object of this entire chapter appears to be about letting our minds become aware of the natural sounds around us. evening."
This is the way I read that sentence. It is like the woodpeckers in our area. In the Spring they will begin to peck with a loud rat-a-tat-tat on our metal furnace pipe at six in the morning, or, "within 5 minutes of that particular time."
This is not the best sentence Henry every wrote! In fact, the whole idea is 'misspoken', in my opinion. If I were to write it, I would say, "Like a clock, they would begin to sing every evening, within 5 minuters of the setting of the sun.'
Hope this helps.
Sue
Thank you very much, Sue. Your comments always help me with this daunting but sweet task. Thank you for always being there to help. It seems strange to me that Thoreau, I should say, sometimes slips in his sentences despite the fact that he has edited Walden so many times.
T
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