| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Ancient Regime by Charles Kingsley: infantry, and ride over the land (whether in England or in France),
"doing unspeakable evil." To that special instinct of horsemanship,
which still distinguishes their descendants, we may attribute mainly
the Scandinavian settlement of the north and east of England. Some,
too, may recollect the sketch of the primeval Hun, as he first
appeared to the astonished and disgusted old Roman soldier Ammianus
Marcellinus; the visages "more like cakes than faces;" the "figures
like those which are hewn out with an axe on the poles at bridge-
ends;" the rat-skin coats, which they wore till they rotted off
their limbs; their steaks of meat cooked between the saddle and the
thigh; the little horses on which "they eat and drink, buy and sell,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: of all that the gentry knew, all that made them upper class: apart from
the money. That thrilled her. And at the same time, she was making him
want to have her there with him. It was a subtle deep flattery to him,
her genuine thrill.
To Connie, Clifford seemed to be coming out in his true colours: a
little vulgar, a little common, and uninspired; rather fat. Ivy
Bolton's tricks and humble bossiness were also only too transparent.
But Connie did wonder at the genuine thrill which the woman got out of
Clifford. To say she was in love with him would be putting it wrongly.
She was thrilled by her contact with a man of the upper class, this
titled gentleman, this author who could write books and poems, and
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: prospered in the new locality, for his beard hung down to his waist.
He was a widower with six young children (he had left them in charge
of a sister of his to come out there), and the passion of his
life was pigeon-flying. He was an enthusiast and a connoisseur.
He would rave about pigeons. After work hours he used sometimes to come
over from his hut for a talk about his children and his pigeons; at work,
when he had to crawl in the mud under the bottom of the steamboat,
he would tie up that beard of his in a kind of white serviette
he brought for the purpose. It had loops to go over his ears.
In the evening he could be seen squatted on the bank rinsing that
wrapper in the creek with great care, then spreading it solemnly
Heart of Darkness |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde: go.
LORD ILLINGWORTH. The boy is to be with you for six months in the
year, and with me for the other six. That is perfectly fair, is it
not? You can have whatever allowance you like, and live where you
choose. As for your past, no one knows anything about it except
myself and Gerald. There is the Puritan, of course, the Puritan in
white muslin, but she doesn't count. She couldn't tell the story
without explaining that she objected to being kissed, could she?
And all the women would think her a fool and the men think her a
bore. And you need not be afraid that Gerald won't be my heir. I
needn't tell you I have not the slightest intention of marrying.
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