ELIZABETHAN BLANK VERSE
THE QUARREL IN OTHERWORLD

To set both the mood and the import of the quarrel among the immortals, I elected to set the piece in the theatrical style of blank verse well-known to Elizabethan scholars, a form well outside the everyday speech patterns of today.  It is meant to sound contrived, a device of exposition that will lead to the "classroom" discussion in the pub. 

 
EXT - SHRINE/CAVE ENTRANCE (MOVIE) - DAY

At the back of the shrine site, above the cave, the Three Fates, serene, lovely  and blind -- their pupils silver-white, like miniature moons -- spin and weave.  From the Third Fate's lap, a huge tapestry of countless galaxies drapes down over the cave entrance.  The angry Furies march forward, but the Fates speak first.
FIRST FATE
The thread is short.

SECOND FATE

And thin.

THIRD FATE

It calls for skill.

FIRST FURY

All knowing Fates!  How can you sit and weave?

SECOND FURY

The goddess lies defiled.

THIRD FURY

All nature weeps.

FIRST FATE

Gently!

SECOND FATE

Lest, by your own violent moods,
This slender thread be broken.

FIRST FURY

Let it break!

SECOND FURY

Man thinks himself divorced from Nature's law!

THIRD FURY

And in contempt, upon Greed's altar spends
His craven lust!
The Muses abandon their cauldron to protest.
FIRST MUSE
(to the Fates)
Shall Furies now guide Fate?

FIRST FURY

Do Muses still guide Man?

THIRD FATE

Enough!  Enough!

FIRST FATE

Even as the Furies gird for vengeance, 
So the Muses seek with sacred Truth
To wean Man from his folly.

SECOND FURY

Fates, hear us! 

THIRD FURY

No single champion comes to sip their brew.

FIRST FURY

No single hero does their song inspire.

SECOND FURY

Our loving sisters are themselves bemused,
If they seek good in Man.

THIRD FATE

Enough!  Enough!

FIRST FATE

The thread is short.

SECOND FATE

And thin.

THIRD FATE

It calls for skill.

THIRD FURY

The Laws of Nature are beyond appeal.

FIRST FURY

So, sisters, by your leave?
Glaring at the Muses, the Furies stalk away.
THE FATES
(unison)
Farewell!
The Muses exchange glances.
SECOND MUSE
And we 
Must also bid farewell.
The Third Muse kisses each of the Fates goodbye, while the First and Second Muses watch nervously.  During the leave-taking, the Third Muse pulls a long strand of her own hair and adds it to the Fates' dwindling skein.  Blushing, the Third Muse hurries back to her sisters and they exit.  The Fates smile.

The Furies have witnessed the Muse's intervention.
SECOND FURY
Have they no shame?

THIRD FURY

The Fates are with the Muses!

FIRST FURY

They conspire 
To frustrate justice!
The Furies storm back to confront the Fates.
SECOND FURY
Nature lies betrayed!

FIRST FATE

Oh?  See you not the wheels within the wheels?

SECOND FATE

Would you deny their final loving gift?

THIRD FATE

A single hair upon which all depends?

FIRST FATE

The thread is short.

SECOND FATE

And thin.

THIRD FATE

It calls for skill.

THIRD FURY

We are not moved.

THE FATES
(unison)

Things shall be as they will.

 
Most importantly, the Elizabethan form sets the scene apart, suggesting an excerpt from a cosmic drama to which Morgan has become a witness.  For a more in depth analysis of the quarrel, CLICK ON THE MYSTERIES.
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