Inauguration (Part I)

Act 1

Donna: You know what Jack will be wearing? A saber.

Josh: God, Donna, please tell me that's not going to be the only thing he's wearing.

Thing = item of clothing
Act 2

Carol: CJ, Danny wanted to see you for a second.

CJ: No way.

Carol: Well…

CJ: Stop trying to get us together, okay? If I wanted Danny, I could have him. And he's still a jackass from the Foreign Ops vote and many other things, so tell him I'm getting my hair done.

Danny: Your hair looks great.

Thing = occasion
Act 2

Leo: Listen to this, please. The Supreme Court is striking down the use of prior offense as a factor in Stiles v. Rhode Island. The Chief Justice writes a concurring opinion: “Guilty or not guilty, past convictions frustrate the judge who wonders should your fate abate.”

Bartlet: It's awkwardly worded.

Leo: No, it's not. It's twenty-two syllables.

Bartlet: Oh, God.

Leo: Two, four, six, eight. Two. And it's supposed to sound like this:

“ Guilty
or not guilty
past convictions frustrate
the judge who wonders should your fate
abate.”

It's a cinquain.

Bartlet: A what?

Leo: A cinquain.

Bartlet: How do you know?

Leo: I know things.

Things = literary forms and poetic meter
Posted by Philateley at February 5, 2003 10:06 PM