Monday 6 February 2012

Transcription Environment Idea...

After a comment from Phil and a bit of research, I've (mostly) decided to create the sea witch's home from Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Little Sea Maid'.

Here's the summarised description of the environment from the book:

  • Foaming whirlpools behind her garden where the sorceress dwelt.
  • No flowers grew there, no sea grass; only the bare grey sand stretched out towards the whirlpools.
    • Where water rushed round like roaring mill-wheels and tore everything it seized into the deep.
  • Through the midst of the rushing whirlpools you had to pass to get to the domain of the witch.
  • No other road except one that lead over warm bubbling mud; the witch called her peat-moss. 
  • Her house was behind it. In the midst of a forest in which all bushes and trees were polyps - half animals, half plants.
    • They looked like 100 headed snakes growing up out of the earth.
    • All branches were long slimey arms, with fingers like supple snakes that moved joint  by joint from the root to the farthest point.
    • All that they could seize on in the water they held fast and never let go again.
      • They all still hold something they seized with hundreds or little arms, like strong iron bands.
      • Sunken sailors watch as white skeletons among the polyps' arms; ships rudders and chests they also held fast, skeletons of land animals and a little mermaid who they had caught and strangled.
  • After is a great marshy place in the wood, where fat water snakes rolled about, showing their ugly cream-coloured bodies.
  • In the midst of this marsh was a house built of white bones of shipwrecked men.

I really liked the description in the book! There were plenty of elements of darkness to it, as well as the opportunity for some very lovely illustrative interpretation. If it gets approval then onwards and upwards! :D

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