02-12-2012, 03:06 PM | #1 |
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Charles Dickens
I was reading an article in a recent issue of Time this afternoon and found that Charles Dickens had his 200th birthday on the 7th of this month. He was born Feb. 7th 1812. Despite how long ago he was born his novels are still read and made into movies. Happy (belated) Birthday Mr. Dickens where ever you may be.
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02-12-2012, 03:19 PM | #2 | |
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We've not been able to turn on the TV or radio around here without hearing items related to the bicentennial of Dickens's birth! |
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02-12-2012, 03:39 PM | #3 |
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Actually I haven't watched much news the last week. Of course part of that was the fact that I started out last week with a case of the flu. The flu shot helped in that it wasn't as bad as it could have been but it's still not much fun having it on top of Diabetes.
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02-12-2012, 03:41 PM | #4 |
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I know I'm being picky, but how can he have a 200th birthday? I thought he died in 1870.
Or is it an example of granny logic: If your great Aunt Ada hadn't died in a shootout with the police in 1963, she'd be 87 today. |
02-12-2012, 03:43 PM | #5 |
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It's not necessary for someone to be alive to celebrate the anniversary of their birth. It is still the bicentennial of Dickens's birth regardless of whether or not he's still alive.
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02-12-2012, 03:45 PM | #6 |
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birthday is not the same as anniversary of their birth, even though a birthday is a form of anniversary.
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02-12-2012, 03:49 PM | #7 |
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Can you tell me why you think it matters? The fact remains that we've just had the 200th anniversary of the birth of the man who is perhaps the greatest ever novelist in the English language. I, for one, am going to use the occasion to re-read and enjoy his wonderful books, not debate whether it's correct to call it a "birthday".
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02-12-2012, 04:04 PM | #8 | |
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It is still the day he was born on 200, years later. Apache |
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02-12-2012, 04:08 PM | #9 |
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02-12-2012, 05:05 PM | #10 |
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Actually if you really wanted to be literal we each only have one birthday (the day on which we're born) but it is easier to say Happy Birthday than to say Happy Ani. of the day you were born. And Dickens isn't the only man of literature whose Birthday is still observed either. Many still remember William Shakespeare's birthday for example. Or when his birthday is believed to have been anyway. He was baptized on April 26th of 1564 so it's likely his birthday was around the 23rd of the month.
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02-12-2012, 05:11 PM | #11 |
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I'm not completely sure why it's his birth that's deemed to be important. It was still a while before he started producing any books.
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02-12-2012, 05:20 PM | #12 | |
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Apache |
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02-13-2012, 06:46 AM | #13 | |
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Actually, in the USA, Dickens is an author English teachers use to torture 14 year old boys with. The books are big, have no car crashes or spaceships in them, and everyone talks and talks and talks. It isn't until we are older that some of us learn to appreciate just how cool he really is. Dickens could use a good publicist and a marketing plan. Last edited by GlenBarrington; 02-13-2012 at 06:56 AM. |
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02-13-2012, 11:07 AM | #14 | |
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02-13-2012, 11:17 AM | #15 |
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The primary definition of 'birthday' is the anniversary of a birth, so, we do use it in the literal sense. To refer to the actual day and year someone was born is a secondary definition.
We could say "Congratulations on the anniversary of your birth", and that would also be accurate, but would be considered unusual. |
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