NPPF - Incest theme

Elainemmbell at aol.com Elainemmbell at aol.com
Tue Jul 15 13:35:26 CDT 2003


In a message dated 7/15/2003 10:05:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
jasper at hatguild.org writes:

> "L'if, lifeless tree! Your great Maybe, Rabelais:" (PF: 52)
> 

Taxus baccata and Taxus brevifolia are members of the yew family (Taxaceae). 
T. baccata is commonly known as the English yew; it's native to (you guessed 
it) England, but has been introduced to some parts of Northeastern U.S. (mainly 
Vermont). --from Cyberbotanica

lines 507-510:  You and I,/And she, then a mere tot, moved from New Wye/To 
Yewshade, in another, higher state./I love great mountains...

So Yewshade is probably in Vermont.  The Yew (L'if) also rather blatantly 
puns on puns on "You, Shade" and may have connotative significance because of 
yews highly toxic/highly curative herbal powers.  (another mirror)  Although 
research was already well advanced regarding yew's pharmaceutical wonders in the 
early 60's, it's probably not that research that N would have been aware of so 
much as the ancient uses of yew--capable of killing or saving life, depending 
on how it was used.

at all yewsful?

Elaine M.M. Bell, Writer
(860) 523-9225
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