obfuscate - verb - to darken or render indistinct or dim; to make obscure or difficult to understand or make sense of; to confuse or bewilder.
Oddly, this is a word applied to a lot of ancient (and perhaps modern) philosophy and religion. Not sure why, since it is all so clear.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
deus ex machina
deus ex machina - n - (in ancient Greek and Roman drama) a god introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot; any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot.
Literally, "the god from the machine" (Latin).
This plot device is so lame that it's never used anymore. In a long lifetime of reading, I have never once come across it. (The book of Job doesn't count because it's not fiction.)
Since I can't provide a real example, I'll make one up. Let's say the hero has fallen behind on his payments to the local loan shark. The shark, to let his other clients know what happens to people who are slow paying up, makes it known that he's going to kill our hero. Our hero goes into hiding, but the shark finds out where he's staying. He's crossing the street to get to our guy's hideout when a drunk driver comes speeding around the corner and kills him. Problem solved - lamely.
Literally, "the god from the machine" (Latin).
This plot device is so lame that it's never used anymore. In a long lifetime of reading, I have never once come across it. (The book of Job doesn't count because it's not fiction.)
Since I can't provide a real example, I'll make one up. Let's say the hero has fallen behind on his payments to the local loan shark. The shark, to let his other clients know what happens to people who are slow paying up, makes it known that he's going to kill our hero. Our hero goes into hiding, but the shark finds out where he's staying. He's crossing the street to get to our guy's hideout when a drunk driver comes speeding around the corner and kills him. Problem solved - lamely.
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