reach an agreement with someone
The poet opens by framing the exchange as a bargain, polite but slightly salesy.
So, I would like to make a deal with you.Before Sunrise · 1995 — Chapter 11 of 20 · 4'18" · B1
Poet Writes a Poem for a Word, Explained: make a deal with
A street poet skips the begging: "I will ask you for a word," he says, and writes a poem around it; pay whatever you feel like. After the reading someone praises it — then adds the poet "probably just plugs that word in."
What happens
On a Vienna street a poet makes his pitch: give him a word instead of money, and he'll write a poem with it inside. The word chosen is "milk shake." He performs the poem, they pay what they feel like, and afterward someone suggests the thing may be a template with a word plugged in.
Listen for
make a deal withadd something to your lifeplug inNothing. I loved it.
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Now
Phrase of the scene
make a deal with
reach an agreement with someone
The poet opens by framing the exchange as a bargain, polite but slightly salesy.
Let's make a deal with the neighbor: we water their plants, they feed our cat.
Also in this scene
- add something to your life
make life better or richer
- plug in
insert a word into a template
- Nothing. I loved it.
backs off with a flat 'I loved it' when pressed
- the fact that
the fact that introduces a clause
- come over someone
a feeling suddenly takes hold
Everything marked in this scene
22 notes across 70 lines
rather than simply doing something
I mean, instead of just asking you for money, I will ask you for a word.make life better or richer
The poet links payment to whether the poem enriches the listener's life, a sincere, philosophical pitch.
if you feel it adds something to your life in any way,conditional clause: An if-clause containing a nested object clause, setting a loose condition for payment.
if you feel it adds something to your life in any way,Feel it adds often runs together, the t slipping into the next word.
if you feel it adds something to your life in any way,In fast speech 'you' reduces to a light jə, with stress on whatever.
then you can pay me whatever you feel like.a vulgar insult — Only among very close friends as a joke; never in formal settings.
Milk shake. Oh, good. I was gonna say "rooster prick." But great. Milk shake.I have to admit
Gotta say I like this Viennese variation of a bum.a version of something
Gotta say I like this Viennese variation of a bum.a homeless or idle person — Common in casual speech but can offend if said to someone's face.
Gotta say I like this Viennese variation of a bum.slightly
Even if we were a little bit, why does everyone think conflict is so bad?The t in conflict often drops before is, so listen for a smooth join.
Even if we were a little bit, why does everyone think conflict is so bad?result from something
There's a lot of good things coming out of conflict.is expected or meant to be
I always think if I could just accept the fact that my life was supposed to be difficult,the fact that introduces a clause
Someone explains their calmer outlook by accepting that life is supposed to be hard.
I always think if I could just accept the fact that my life was supposed to be difficult,appositive clause: The that-clause spells out what the fact is, not which fact.
I always think if I could just accept the fact that my life was supposed to be difficult,very annoyed — Casual and mildly vulgar; avoid in formal or unfamiliar settings.
then I might not get so pissed off about it and I'd be glad when something nice happens.have something to push back against
Maybe that's why I'm still in school. It's easier to have something to fight against.deeply fixed in someone
Yeah, well, we've all had such competitiveness ingrained in us.the most trivial activity
I can be doing the most nothing thing.bare infinitive complement: feel + object + bare infinitive shows the feeling happening, with no 'to'.
shooting some pool, and all of a sudden I feel it come over me — I have got to win.insert a word
He wrote it, but he probably just plugs that word in — whatever — milk shake, you know.Poet Writes a Poem for a Word, explained
What's really going on
The deal reframes a handout as a trade: "instead of just asking you for money, I will ask you for a word." Payment comes only by the listener's own judgment — "then you can pay me whatever you feel like" — so the poem's worth is left open. The doubt arrives after: someone says he "probably just plugs that word in — whatever — milk shake, you know." Pressed on it, the reply is "Nothing. I loved it. It was great." Earlier, a line about first fights asks why "everyone think conflict is so bad," and the answer is that "a lot of good things" come out of it. The poem's own "We have no idea where we're going" sits next to people still sizing each other up.
Theme
RomanceA poem about not knowing where you're going lands while two people are still figuring each other out.
PhilosophyOne line asks why conflict is thought bad; the reply says good things come out of it.
Listen for
- feel it adds — Feel it adds often runs together, the t slipping into the next word.
- whatever you — In fast speech 'you' reduces to a light jə, with stress on whatever.
- conflict is — The t in conflict often drops before is, so listen for a smooth join.
I mean, instead of just asking you for money, I will ask you for a word.He reframes begging as a fair exchange: a word in, a poem out.
then you can pay me whatever you feel like.The price is left to the listener's own judgment of what the poem was worth.
I always think if I could just accept the fact that my life was supposed to be difficult,If difficulty were treated as the baseline, small good things would land as surprises rather than debts.
Even if we were a little bit, why does everyone think conflict is so bad?A defense of the earlier argument: friction isn't automatically damage.
Questions about this scene
Why does the poet ask for a word instead of money?
He says it plainly: "instead of just asking you for money, I will ask you for a word." The word becomes the poem's raw material, and payment comes only after, if they like it.
What word do they give him for the poem?
The word is "milk shake." Right after, one line admits a much cruder word was nearly the pick, then settles: "But great. Milk shake." The word does turn up in the poem: "sweet cakes and milk shakes."
Did the poet really write the poem on the spot?
The scene doesn't settle it. A line doubts it — "he probably just plugs that word in — whatever — milk shake, you know" — but when asked "What do you mean?" the reply backs off: "Nothing. I loved it. It was great."
What does "conflict is so bad" refer to here?
It comes right after a question about whether the two just had their first fight. The answer: "Even if we were a little bit, why does everyone think conflict is so bad?" — plus "There's a lot of good things coming out of conflict."
Before Sunrise · 20 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 12a real prizewinnerAsking About an Ex-Boyfriend
Chapter 1weeks on endStrangers Trade Stories on a Train
Chapter 2the poetry of day-to-day lifePitching a Year-Long TV Show
Chapter 3passive-aggressiveTwo Passengers Talk Childhood and Death
Chapter 4a bad liarTwo Travelers Claim a Honeymoon
Chapter 5scare the hell out of someoneTwo People Play a Q&A Game
Chapter 6piss someone offStrangers Trade Pet Peeves on a Train
Chapter 7romantic projectionsTwo People Talk About Parents and Love
Chapter 8resign yourself toPalm Reading in Vienna
Chapter 9dress rehearsalChurch Talk on Death and Quakers
Chapter 10blank canvasWhat Would Drive You Mad
Watching · Chapter 11make a deal withPoet Writes a Poem for a Word
Chapter 12a real prizewinnerAsking About an Ex-Boyfriend
Chapter 13let it sink inA Man Recounts His Madrid Heartbreak
Chapter 14fool aroundTwo People Debate Men, Women and Monkeys
Chapter 15fear of commitmentBirth Dance Talk Turns to Love
Chapter 16fall for someoneThe Fake Phone Call in Vienna
Chapter 17be a ghostMan Pretends to Call a Friend
Chapter 18fizzle outTwo People Agree to One Night Only
Chapter 19sleep togetherThey Agree Not to Sleep Together
Chapter 20have a great lifeTwo Lovers Say Goodbye at Track NineChapter 11 of 20 · about 24 min to go