search for narrative - paul revere
so recently ive been looking for a narative, or something to base my visuals on.
i was going to create visuals to a song, to create a music video. but ive decided that this was a pretty unoriginal idea of mine, and that i needed something better to base my work on for the emp.
i was slightly stumped for a bit, and couldnt really think of anything suitable. my mind kept bringing me back round to the predictable route of music, as that seems to be what im doing most of the time, most days - listening to music.
i was listening to a new track that had leaked from a pop punk band called four year strong called paul revere’s midnight ride, which lead me to look up more about this character, as i thought i had heard this phrase before.
according to wikipedia paul revere was, amongst other things, a horseback messenger in america in the late 1700’s. his ‘midnight ride’ occurred on the night of April 18/19th 1775 when he and another man called william dawes rode from boston to lexington to warn people of the advance of the british army. the warning they delivered enabled the militia to repel the british troops.
what fascinated me most about this little story was that at the time revere’s role was not particularly noted or praised at all. however in 1861 - over 40 years after his death - a poem was written about the ride called ‘paul revere’s ride’ by henry longfellow.
the opening lines go:
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year
the poem is very well known in america, and the story now has the same level of fame in america as the story of guy fawkes in the united kingdom. many myths and urban legends have come from the tale, mainly due to people, especially in the past, taking longfellow’s poem as the truth. the poem dramatises and exaggerates the ride and the obstacles that the riders had to overcome along the way.
it fascinates me how a simple story gains added elements through being retold. although the story of paul revere is an interesting one, i am going to explore other short stories, fairy tales, legends, myths and folk lore to find something that i can use to base my work on for this project.
