How soon is now?: medieval texts, amateur readers, and the queerness of time

Abstract

How Soon Is Now? i take my title from the 1984 song by the legendary Manchester band The Smiths.If you know only one Smiths song, this is probably the one: it's instantly recognizable to anyone who lived through '80s club days or listens now to that soundtrack in the current '80s revival.The song's massive, quivering guitar sound and its length (over six and a half minutes) make it different from the band's other briefer and more melodic songs, but its lyrics and vocals are classic Smiths, featuring the lovelorn, melancholy persona of the lead singer, Morrissey.As so often in the Smiths songbook, he poses a question with a particularly desirous urgency: "When you say it's gonna happen now, / Well, when exactly do you mean?" Evoking the impatience, frustration, and desperation engendered by yet another lonely night at a dance club, Morrissey wails, "See, I've already waited too long, / And all my hope is gone.

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