Talk:Ben Bolt

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This is the primary topic

I have concluded that this article should be the primary topic (with a link to a disambiguation page in the hatnote) for "Ben Bolt." It is primary with respect to usage because it has a higher chance of being searched for by readers (as opposed to a small Texas town, a defunct newspaper comic, etc.) -- indeed, when I first heard of this poem years ago I tried to search for it on the wiki and found nothing. It is also primary with respect to long-term significance because it has been notable for more than a century and a half and is the namesake of pretty much every other entity named "Ben Bolt," and while that newspaper comic (for example) will likely never be revived, musicians continue to perform "Ben Bolt" to this day. (Mostly Irish folk musicians at this point. Not sure why it's survived there and not so well in the US.) RexSueciae (talk) 19:36, 30 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Svengali

It is wrong to claim Svengali's hypnotic powers fail when used on Trilby. Wikipedia's own article has: Under his [Svengali's] spell, Trilby becomes a talented singer, performing always in an amnesiac trance.

It is only when Svengali is knifed and has a heart attack that he cannot make Trilby sing beautifully.Abenr (talk) 18:39, 17 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed -- Svengali's powers failed upon his incapacitation and death. That was what I intended to say. RexSueciae (talk) 01:23, 22 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Trilby and revived popularity?

@RexSueciae I added a missing play, Ben Bolt by John B. Johnstone, which was apparently very popular in the 19th century. It would seem that Johnstone's play adaptation of "Ben Bolt" was still popular when Trilby came around as Johnstone's play was still being performed internationally (it got staged all over the United States, the UK, and the British colonial provinces), and was published nearly 50 years after it premiered. I'm not sure we can claim Trilby revived popularity on a subject that was already popular on the stage in another version. Indeed the cited source doesn't say that it made Ben Bolt popular again, merely that Trilby was a popular hit. There's a difference. 4meter4 (talk) 22:23, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@4meter4 oh, good show, thank you for finding that! RexSueciae (talk) 23:40, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]