Outer Reaches of the Palindrome Page: 15
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meaning are constantly being tested and stretched."2 The interpreter of the palindrome not only
walks away from the experience with freshly birthed new images but also with new word usages
and meanings.
In my mind, a palindrome is an image and context generator, as if the austerity of the
form itself creates a textual environment that catapults the human imagination into a place where
it normally might not go via daydreaming. I see a palindrome, and though the sequential,
reverse-order arrangement of the letters is perfectly symmetrical (thus making them qualify as a
palindrome), and though the palindrome may be grammatical (even grammatical by extension),
and though the implications of the words may incite a narrative or a meditation that the reader
interprets as having some sense of resolution, despite all of these scenarios, upon reading a
palindrome I am always left with a sense that any image or meaning I derive always alludes to a
greater context. Image and context. These are the sorcery of not only palindromy, but of
literature itself. If a picture says a thousand words, then a string of words paints a thousand
pictures.
The nature of fragmentation is interesting, and palindromes can seem to induce the feel of
contextually fragmented language. Take this scenario: Bob walks up to a group of friends; Big
Ray is telling a story about an irritating dental procedure; Bob only hears the words, "... I know
the whole thing only took forty-five minutes, but it felt like an eternity. I thought he'd never take
that damn thing out of my mouth," and Bob responds out of context by saying, "Wow, Big Ray, I
know you're having a tough time with the ladies lately, but don't give up so soon"; everybody
laughs at Bob's homoerotic joke. Fragmentation is a powerful tool in humor; miscontextualizing
fragmented speech helps the plot thicken- it develops misunderstandings that fuel tension and
suspense. Just about every television situation comedy that has ever aired boasts at least one15
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McConnell, Michael Constantine. Outer Reaches of the Palindrome, thesis, December 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4407/m1/18/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .