[ServalSpirit]

hmm, well in some pictures there is a glimpse of something Cadvan-ish, but overall........ not quite. I still haven't agreed on a Cadvan..... :rolleyes:

[spring]

Mistress Maerad i don't think Hugh Jackman would be the right cadvan, but personally i think it would be better altogether if Cadvan was played by an unknown actor.

[Bree]

I've sort of analysed the rhyme. Just to see what it means exactly. It might be a load of nonsense to you all. But also it'll keep my skills at analysing poems well oiled, however small the skill might be.

Grows a Lily on the Briar – A Briar, in case you don’t know, is a plant with a thorny or prickly wooden stem. So this most likely represents the Dark, perhaps the Darkness the Light is falling in to. The Lily is of course Maerad, and she has sprung up from this briar, despite the fact that it should choke her, metaphorically speaking of course. And Lily and Briar is a case of personification, the inanimate things are brought to life.


Grows a Briar on the Wave – The Wave I think is again a metaphor, for the rising and swelling of the Dark. The corruptness of the Light grows ever more as the Dark becomes stronger. Or perhaps the Briar is the darkness in Maerad’s heart that Cadvan sensed. Her Darkness will grow as the Dark becomes stronger.

Triple tongued its voice of Fire – Clearly Maerad with Annarean, The Speech and the tongue of the Elidhu. Fire shows the power she has.

Edil-Amarandh will save - Perhaps Edil-Amarandh is going to save Maerad in the end. As in, when she is about to fall into Darkness, she will have a Foredream of what the land was once like, before Sharma came, or perhaps what will be if she plays the Treesong. Or maybe Cadvan will remind her. (I’m sort of thinking about Jennistar’s fanfic here.)


True and false the cunning Flame - Maerad is cunning in the fact that she was able to trick Arkan. She is true by admitting she loved Arkan, but false in the idea that she left him.

Burning in the darkest Night – The darkest Night is Sharma’s greatest rising of course.

False and true the secret Name – I think this is speaking of her Elidhu name. It isn’t known to us yet. It is true in the sense that it is her Name, it belongs to her, but it is still false in the idea that it isn’t her Name, her Truename I mean. Or then again it could be her Truename Elednor. But it isn’t her name, Maerad is.

Quickened in the womb of Light – I think the womb of Light describes the Way of the White Flame. As in, this was the original way they fully instated a Minor Bard. The Way of the White Flame is the birthplace of Instatement, and perhaps it was a quicker way than the more modern way Bards now use. So her Name was brought on more quickly.

Where the Briar on the Foam? – if you think about a wave, breaking on the shore, it often creates foam. Or often if a wave is strong enough at sea it has foam. The foam is, in my opinion, the aftermath of a war. Like I said before, the wave is the Dark, so if you were to think of the shore as a School, like Pellinor, it crashes against it, washing it away. So the Briar may be someone like Enkir, the corrupt Light, working on the Dark.

Doth the Lily stemless stand? – I believe Maerad is stemless in the idea that she has no home. She has no where to stand, to protect. Malgorn is of Innail, so he would protect there. Nerili protects Busk. But because Maerad’s home was destroyed, she now has no one place in particular that she can protect from the Wave and the Foam.

Who will bring the Singing home? – Maybe this is reference to Hem, he will bring the tuning fork to Maerad, to complete the Treesong. Or maybe it is simply Maerad, bringing the Treesong back to Edil-Amarandh, the Light, and even the Elidhu.

Where the Harp? And whose the Hand? – The Harp – Her lyre, but it has a capital, so it’s personified. Maerad is the music, the music is part of her, or she must become part of it before she can play it, just like Hem did with Nyannar. Hand is also personified, it is again Maerad. She cannot simply play with her hand alone, her hand must come to life, it must surge with her power, it must feel the Treesong, before she can play it.


Yes. Basically i think what i was doing here was explaining that I don't think Cadvan is really involved in this poem. may be seen as mindless drabble.

[Autumn]

Doth the Lily stemless stand? – I believe Maerad is stemless in the idea that she has no home. She has no where to stand, to protect. Malgorn is of Innail, so he would protect there. Nerili protects Busk. But because Maerad’s home was destroyed, she now has no one place in particular that she can protect from the Wave and the Foam.

Could that also mean if Maerad is cut down or injured in some way (like with her hand) can she still uphold the prophecy? Make its prediction come true?

Or, like you said, she is stemless (as in has no home) therefore as she is not of one place (thus, perhaps, rendering her alone) can she find and work the Treesong?

But Bree, i thought that was a very in-depth analysis and a good one too!

[Bree]

I like your idea of it meaning she has been cut down, Autumn. I never thought about that. Maiming her could maybe prevent her playing and fullfilling the Treesong.

And thank you. :)

[xMagicx]

I can see BB as Dharin, but RA is not Cadvan! I just don't see it. Er, don't kill me, but I don't even think he's that hot. *Hides in bomb shelter*

well siad savendia!!!! :p
*hides in bomb shelter with savendia*:o

he's kinda weird . . . no offence but hes doesn't look cadvanish:o

I just don't think there's a perfect cadders actor but maybe we might be walking in the street and see a normal guy who looks exactly like cadders???:confused::rolleyes:

i'm still a ben barnes supporter *cheers*:D

[dreamer]

Grows a Lily on the Briar – A Briar, in case you don’t know, is a plant with a thorny or prickly wooden stem. So this most likely represents the Dark, perhaps the Darkness the Light is falling in to. The Lily is of course Maerad, and she has sprung up from this briar, despite the fact that it should choke her, metaphorically speaking of course. And Lily and Briar is a case of personification, the inanimate things are brought to life.

Grows a Briar on the Wave – The Wave I think is again a metaphor, for the rising and swelling of the Dark. The corruptness of the Light grows ever more as the Dark becomes stronger. Or perhaps the Briar is the darkness in Maerad’s heart that Cadvan sensed. Her Darkness will grow as the Dark becomes stronger.
...
Edil-Amarandh will save - Perhaps Edil-Amarandh is going to save Maerad in the end. As in, when she is about to fall into Darkness, she will have a Foredream of what the land was once like, before Sharma came, or perhaps what will be if she plays the Treesong. Or maybe Cadvan will remind her. (I’m sort of thinking about Jennistar’s fanfic here.) .
...
Quickened in the womb of Light – I think the womb of Light describes the Way of the White Flame. As in, this was the original way they fully instated a Minor Bard. The Way of the White Flame is the birthplace of Instatement, and perhaps it was a quicker way than the more modern way Bards now use. So her Name was brought on more quickly. Didn't Nelac, Cadvan and Saliman think that the briar was the House of Karn and that the wave was something linked to the Light / Elidhu / music? (pages 403-404 of The Gift, UK edition). If that's right, Maerad (lily) is an offshoot of the House of Karn (briar) which in turn springs from Bards and Elidhu (wave), which seems to make sense.

Edil-Amarandh will save - personally, I think this means that the lily (Maerad) will save E-A. To me, it seems that "voice of fire" is the subject (person / thing doing the action) whilst E-A is the object (person / thing to which the action is done). This would be much easier to explain if English still had a comprehensive case system... Not to mention there wouldn't be this confusion in the first place.

Quickened in the womb of Light - My interpretation would be that the Light has been nurturing Maerad:
2. to give or restore vigor or activity to; stir up, rouse, or stimulate: to quicken the imagination. I would say that assigning this line to the Way of the White Flame is being a bit too specific, and given that Maerad at some point in the Riddle realises that both Ardina and Arkan have essentially told her that she is neither of the Light nor the Dark, it seems to fit that the Light is her origin but she ceases to be within it.

But the rest of it, I definitely agree with. (And in far more depth than I could ever bear to do - GCSE English Literature poetry made me loathe analysing poetry). *applauds* :D

[waahoo!]

wow dreamer that was great! The poem is just confusing to me, I mean we won't know what it means until we read The Singing. It just tells you pretty much what Maerad is going to do i guess. I bet there is a lot to it in the last book, maybe the poem is even a riddle, which makes Maerad a riddle. We already knew she was a riddle but she hasn't figured herself out quite yet. (Wow i confused myself a little! :confused: )

[waahoo!]

Where the Harp? And whose the Hand? – The Harp – Her lyre, but it has a capital, so it’s personified. Maerad is the music, the music is part of her, or she must become part of it before she can play it, just like Hem did with Nyannar. Hand is also personified, it is again Maerad. She cannot simply play with her hand alone, her hand must come to life, it must surge with her power, it must feel the Treesong, before she can play it.





Yes the Harp could be referring to Maerad's lyre, but since since Maerad is maimed, maybe she can't play it. The Hand is referring to the person who is playing the song. And if it was supposed to be Maerad, wouldn't they say it? Wouldn't it be obvious? You know, maybe maearad has to sing it, while Cadvan or Hem plays the lyre. (You never know, Hem might be able to play) Alison puts a lot of twists and turns in there. I don't know just a thought....

[dreamer]

Yes the Harp could be referring to Maerad's lyre, but since since Maerad is maimed, maybe she can't play it. The Hand is referring to the person who is playing the song. And if it was supposed to be Maerad, wouldn't they say it? Wouldn't it be obvious? You know, maybe maearad has to sing it, while Cadvan or Hem plays the lyre. (You never know, Hem might be able to play) Alison puts a lot of twists and turns in there. I don't know just a thought....Maerad can play her lyre, but only if she summons her powers - she then has "fingers of light" to replace her lost fingers. It's true, though, that it does say "whose?", implying that it's not necessarily Maerad. On the other hand though, the identity of the person who is the Lily isn't revealed in the song; it could be asking (indirectly) "who will be this person who is called the Lily?". I don't think Hem can play - Alison's said that (or something very like it) in either The Crow or this forum. Oh well, exactly 1 month to go until the September UK release...