0
Wholegrain Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
as no doubt, the moonstruck
Herman Melville - The Confidence Man
http://www.online-literature.com/melville/confidence-man/10
On the floor are many copies, looking as if fluttered down from a balloon. The way they came there was this: A somewhat elderly person, in the quaker dress, had quietly passed through the cabin, and, much in the manner of those railway book-peddlers who precede their proffers of sale by a distribution of puffs, direct or indirect, of the volumes to follow, had, without speaking, handed about the odes, which, for the most part, after a cursory glance, had been disrespectfully tossed aside, as no doubt, the moonstruck production of some wandering rhapsodist.
by "as no doubt, the moonstruck..."
does he mean
"as if no doubt being the moonstruck..."?
Was he using an ellipsis, I don't understand the reason he formulated this sentence such as he did, can you explain?
http://www.online-literature.com/melville/confidence-man/10
On the floor are many copies, looking as if fluttered down from a balloon. The way they came there was this: A somewhat elderly person, in the quaker dress, had quietly passed through the cabin, and, much in the manner of those railway book-peddlers who precede their proffers of sale by a distribution of puffs, direct or indirect, of the volumes to follow, had, without speaking, handed about the odes, which, for the most part, after a cursory glance, had been disrespectfully tossed aside, as no doubt, the moonstruck production of some wandering rhapsodist.
by "as no doubt, the moonstruck..."
does he mean
"as if no doubt being the moonstruck..."?
Was he using an ellipsis, I don't understand the reason he formulated this sentence such as he did, can you explain?
Top answer
The meaning is as you say. I cannot tell you anything specific about the construction, as it seems normal to me, and common enough. 'No doubt ' is a common sentence adverbial.
- The meaning is as you say.
- I cannot tell you anything specific about the construction, as it seems normal to me, and common enough.
- 'No doubt ' is a common sentence adverbial.
- ' Being ' is an oft-elided participle.
- had been disrespectfully tossed aside as the moonstruck production of some wandering rhapsodist, no doubt.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
.
The meaning is as you say.
I cannot tell you anything specific about the construction, as it seems normal to me, and common enough. 'No doubt' is a common sentence adverbial. .'Being' is an oft-elided participle.
It could easily be rearranged as:
...the odes, which...had been disrespectfully tossed aside as the moonstruck production of some wa
The meaning is as you say.
I cannot tell you anything specific about the construction, as it seems normal to me, and common enough. 'No doubt' is a common sentence adverbial. .'Being' is an oft-elided participle.
It could easily be rearranged as:
...the odes, which...had been disrespectfully tossed aside as the moonstruck production of some wa
00
Related Questions