The Dark is Rising excerpt Susan Cooper

The quest poem is a tradition relating to prophetical writing before Isaiah wrote the prophecy related to the Messiah before Jesus was born and later on the prophecies of Nostradamus. These quick lines of verse identify a framework for discovering proof of God in our daily lives, while fictional verse is an outline of the hero's quest. Susan Cooper's verses relate to the hero's quest contain a few words to be explained in further detail as the story unfolds.

Whether the outline for the story is already written or will be written later is difficult to identify, yet there is an intrinsic quality when well written. This poem expands into another stanza when challenges are achieved. There is also the appearance of a chant involving the main part of quest in the first stanza, "When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back." Then it goes on to identify objects found during the quest.

After identifying the objects, the hero needs additional assistance. Even though each description is only three or four words he now knows to look around during events. Now they are aware when a key word appears. In this story, he is given the first sign on his birthday. The corresponding line is, "Iron for the birthday." Then he looks for another sign in the progression, "Stone out of song."

An excellent quest prophecy poem adds to a story even if lacking prose. The reader is prepared, yet not overly prepared as the story progresses. This adds excitement for readers. Having something like an outline in the story also creates a sense of the author's organization skills, they thought about how the story unfolds before writing. This might be a false perception, yet they created a rough outline.

At the end of the book a new stanza appears when ending this quest. A new person is found to tell the hero information only known to them. This verse connects this journey to the past and future books and also acts as a catalyst to identify when the story is complete.

It is enjoyable knowing a series will end one day; instead of, going on-and-on forever without the reward of accomplishment. This is particularly well thought out. When the quest is fulfilled the story ends. From a poetic standpoint lines rhyme and the rhythm carry a tune, so it is memorable. Clues fit into the storyline in a fun way that follows a logical pattern.

Related Article
Identifying Satan

Quirky Books
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper