gobbet
/ˈɡɒbɪt/
noun [BRITISH]
a piece or lump of flesh, food, or other matter.
“a torn-off gobbet of flesh”
an extract from a text, especially one set for translation or comment in an examination.
“the poetry was mainly seen as a quarry for gobbets”
a short piece of writing that induces reflection and pondering thought, often used in the Slowist community.
“I just dreamed up the most wonderful gobbet, I think I’ll post it on Slowist.org”
I love a gobbet. If you’ve got no idea what I’m talking about, you need to get yourself an Oxbridge education, or do what I did and watch the fantastic film ‘The History Boys‘ – an adaptation of Alan Bennett’s play, showcasing a perfect performance from Richard Griffiths and a host of other stars.
A gobbet in this context is an extract of text from literature used in exams to provoke an academic analysis of the wider context of the piece.
I think gobbets, including those from classical literature, from not very good literature or even those that pop into your head as if from nowhere, perhaps created only by you, can capture moments in time and help us reflect within ourselves or measure our place in the universe.
Slowist.org has a Category for gobbets, so please feel free to post and share…