STRUCTURE

To begin with, it is very important to establish the theme of the ballad. This text can be interpreted in many ways: the strange love between Sand and Harry Soot or the analysis of different points of view about different aspects of the human being life: science, philosophy, art…

To understand perfectly the structure of this work it is necessary to know that we are dealing with a ballad. A ballad is a poetic composition of sentimental tone in which are narrated traditional, legendary and romantic events and, it is the earliest form of literature connected to communal gatherings or dance.

Particularly, this ballad is a little bit different from the original. In this case instead of music, the different verses are accompanied by a group of images which help to give more coherence and dynamism to the text. With these images it is no possible to know exactly the meaning of the text because they don´t show what is written in the text but, they help the reader to go into the matter of it because they represent relations and feelings expressed in text. So we can say that there is a very close relation between the images and the text.

Another feature of the coherence of this text is that the verses on each screen are linked to other verses in the ballad through three links on each screen. The text and the image on each screen are linked to other ones on different screens forming the whole coherence of the hypertext.

In the great majority of the screens, in each individual one, the beholder can see two different verses: one about Sand and one about Harry Soot, the two characters of the ballad. The verse that has to be with Sand appears under a 0 and the one that has to be with Harry under a 1, to show the difference between the two characters, and also an eternal dualism between two modes of being: male and female, dreams and reality, silicon-based entities and carbon-based entities… Definitely, two different realms.

At the beginning of the hypermedia work there is an index in which the reader can choose between three options to read the text under the section “how”: random reading, by clicking zeroes in the navigation bar; reading through linkages and complete reading, through clicking images on each screen.

There is another possibility of reading totally different from the first three ones. It is the CODA reading and allows the reader to go beyond the literal meaning of the poem and deal with the aspects that have to be with the human experience. The reader has to do the opposite thing of the other ways of reading, to go from images to verses and, what he/she sees is a different narrative in which can see the story from many different perspectives.

Now let´s talk in depth about the relation between the images and the verses on different screens. The images that appear in the text are from many people and have different styles and made with different techniques

These images refer to the character of sand but with different perspectives of it. Images from Ho, for example, are centered in the conceptualization. The images are digital sand etchings from the Sisyphus project.

- The title page of the ballad depicts “Swheel”. The “Swheel” is the image of sand etching, a heptagon with fractal overlapping of the pattern traced by Sisyphus ball. http://www.wordcirc uits.com/gallery/sandsoot/

- In the part of the screen that takes the beholder to the poem is the image of the ball of the Sisyphus computer used to trace patterns in sand etchings. http://ww w.wordcircuits.com/gallery/sandsoot/frame.html

- The image that accompanies the first two verses is one of Ho images called “Three rocks”.

These entire images try to represent that sand sculptures can be toppled by a mere touch or blown away by a whiff of the wind pretending to remind the beholder the transience of existence. But they also reflect the tranquility and peace of the Japanese gardens making the reader to feel these sensations.

Another example can be Ana Voog´s Goldshow images, in which the woman´s body becomes a medium of artistic expression. The color of the images is always yellow or gold covering the image completely. Clicking these images the reader access to verses of Sand that have to be with descriptions of the character as a sensuous woman.

With these two kinds of images that reflect fragility, sensuality, simplicity… Strickland manages to describe better the character of sand.

In this case I am going to talk about different screens in which can be seen the differences and relations between the two characters, who represent two different realms.

0

As albino cave bats who let go
of coloration, but develop keener
sensors, Sand.

1

Soot, who seeks to catch a falling star
in the monitoring
cave, evolves into colorblind.

These verses comment the multi-sensory perceptions of Sand; Soot however, relies primarily on visual perceptions. The image on this screen belongs to Ho and is called “Winddrifted” which shows a sand etching in the process of erosion. Sand, that don´t to get fixed to only a particular form adopts many perspectives. Soot with his limited vision can’t see other visions or perspectives.

The following two verses are accompanied by an image titled “Hilbert” that also belongs to Sisyphus project.

0

If a silly con were all Sand were.

1

If an ashy trash were all of Soot.

The verses seem to make a question about the nature of Sand and Soot. On the one hand, is Sand just silicon? Can be Sand reduced to its chemical composition? The sand is composed of silicon dioxide, silica, used to make silicon chips for computer. Sand´s world is very open to possibilities. On the other hand, is Soot simply a lump of flesh that one say simply will turn into ashes?

The ballad also tells the reader of Soot´s growing love for Sand her special capacity to generate diverse world of great profundity and subtle beauty.

The last screen is also very interesting to comment:

0

Sand religiously stops. And starts the next thing.

1

Bluesy Soot can't conclude.

Sand´s existence is marked by the repetitions with differences. The same logic is of hypermedia work, which enables multiple readings. Soot is however, associated with time and memory and he can only realize himself in terms of linear progression.

So Soot´s encounter in the ballad with Sand can be seen as his opening up to a different point of view where creative discontinuity contributes to the enlightened perspective.

To sum up, creating hypermedia literature is more than simply linking text and image. In order for hypermedia literature to become mature, the writers need to pay attention to the overall coherence of the narrative when they mix media and create a hyperlinked work. In Strickland´s ballad, linkages are not simply formal techniques for navigation purposes. Instead links create a shifting dynamics between the form and the content. The formal techniques emphasize the meaning of the text expressed through the visual and textual elements. Form and content are seen in a dynamic relationship for generating diverging and converging readings.