Colloquy II:

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

Spring 2011

*Due 1/25 by 11:59pm (Tuesday evening)

Peristasis:
“A description of attendant circumstances: time, place, occasion, personal characteristics, background,
education, habits, etc.”1

Prosopographia:
“The vivid description of someone’s face or character. [. . .] Also, the description of feigned or imaginary
characters, such as devils or harpies.” 2

Anachronism:
“Something outside of its proper historical time period. When this “error” occurs, an author places an event,
person, or thing during a time when it could not have happened.” 3

What To Do:
1. Read chapters 2 and 3 from Something Rotten (provided for you on Blackboard).
2. Create a post on the Colloquy of no fewer than 300 words in which you continue the story at hand. You
may choose to either continue with chapter 3, or perhaps you wish to start a new chapter. Your post
needs to contain at least one of the three rhetorical devices listed above (Fforde makes abundant use of
all these devices).
3. You must also respond to two Colloquy authors’ posts (remember there will be just over 80 authors to
choose from). There is no word requirement for responses, but you do need to make a significant
comment about the posts in which you are commenting on. I recommend commenting on how the
Colloquy author executed one of the rhetorical devices – was it creative? How so? Was it effective?
How so? How is the Colloquy author’s use of the rhetorical device different or similar to Fforde’s use
of it?

1
Definition taken from Silva Rhetoricæ.
2
Ibid.
3
Definition taken from The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.
 Accompanying Videos
I have provided links to some videos that may be helpful in elucidating Something Rotten’s narrative. Since
Hamlet is one of the primary characters in this book, I am giving you links to a three-part, BBC cartoon
production of Hamlet. If you have never read/seen Hamlet, I highly encourage you to watch this relatively short
rendition of one of the longest plays ever written. The story of Hamlet has been one of the most influential
narratives, and if you are not familiar with the story, you should be.

Three-part Hamlet
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-S0M1PkNcQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTZr3BuyHbU
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AAPQi7XMgI

Jasper Fforde is a serial novelist, and his books surround the character of Thursday Next, a literary detective.
The world of Thursday is unusual and slightly surreal. I am providing a link to a video of Fforde offering a
brief breakdown of Thursday’s peculiar world. Since you will only be reading 2 chapters from the book, you
may want a broader understanding of the context before embarking on your Colloquy post.

Jasper Fforde on Thursday’s World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChpKfEVXqNE

Finally, only because I enjoy it, I am giving you a link to Mystery Science Theatre 3000’s mockery of Hamlet.
It is fairly short, and this video only shows the best parts, not it in its entirety. This MST3K’s rendition focuses
on much of what popular cultural criticizes and makes fun of Hamlet for; as much as you should know Hamlet,
you should also be aware of the bits of it that people endlessly laugh at.

MST3K’s Mockery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eajMQ6Q3-6s