OF GIANTS in GENERAL
by Percival Leigh · from Jack the Giant Killer
Adapted Version
Hello! I tell you about a giant. He is very big.
The Giant is a very big man. He is so tall. He is very strong. He is like a huge person. I want to tell you about him. He is special. He is a giant, a true wonder.
He is tall like a giraffe. A giraffe is very, very tall. He stands high, almost touching the sky. His waist is very wide. It is like three big steps for a person. This is a very big waist. He is a big giant, truly huge.
He walks. The ground shakes when he moves. His steps are heavy. Boom, boom, boom! I feel the ground move under my feet. He is so heavy, a giant of great size.
He has big, round eyes. They look out at everything. His mouth is big. It has big, strong teeth. It is like a shark's mouth. He opens his mouth very, very wide when he yawns. It is a huge yawn.
He thinks slowly. He is not very smart. His head is big. But his thoughts are slow.
He wears clothes that are very big. On his feet, he has special boots. These boots are huge and strong. He also wears a skirt. It is a very big skirt, made of thick cloth. Over his body, he has a shiny coat. This coat shines like the sun. It looks very tough and strong.
On his big head, he wears a crown. It is a very big crown. It is made of gold and it sparkles. The crown shows he is a mighty giant.
In his hand, he holds a mace. A mace is a very big stick. It has sharp spikes on its end. He carries this heavy mace with ease. It looks like it could break anything.
When he speaks, his voice is very loud. It is louder than a big storm. His words boom and echo. You can hear him from a long, long way off. His voice makes the ground tremble a little.
And that is my story about the very big giant. He is truly a sight to see!
Original Story
OF GIANTS IN GENERAL.
A Giant was, I should premise,
A hulking lout of monstrous size;
He mostly stood—I know you 'll laugh—
About as high as a giraffe.
His waist was some three yards in girth:
When he walked he shook the earth.
His eyes were of the class called "goggle,"
Fitter for the scowl than ogle.
His mouth, decidedly carnivorous,
Like a shark's,—the Saints deliver us!
He yawned like a huge sarcophagus,
For he was an Anthropophagus,
His brain partaking strongly of lead,
How well soe'er he was off for head;
Having frequently one or two
Crania more than I or you.
He was bare of arm and leg,
But buskins had, and a philabeg;
Also a body-coat of mail
That shone with steel or brazen scale,
Like to the back of a crocodile's tail;
A crown he wore,
And a mace he bore
That was knobbed and spiked with adamant;
It would smash the skull
Of the mountain bull,
Or scatter the brains of the elephant.
His voice than the tempest was louder and gruffer—
Well; so much for the uncouth "buffer."
Story DNA
Plot Summary
This piece is a detailed poetic description of a generic giant. It outlines his immense size, physical features like goggle eyes and a carnivorous mouth, and his man-eating nature. The description continues with his lead-like brain, multiple heads, and his attire, which includes buskins, a philabeg, and a coat of mail. The giant is also depicted wearing a crown and wielding an adamant-spiked mace, concluding with a note on his tempestuous voice.
Themes
Emotional Arc
none
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Percival Leigh was a 19th-century English humorist and writer, often associated with Punch magazine. This piece reflects a common literary interest in mythological creatures during that era.
Plot Beats (10)
- The narrator begins by defining a giant as a monstrously sized, hulking lout.
- The giant's immense height, comparable to a giraffe, is described, along with his three-yard waist.
- His heavy steps are said to shake the earth.
- The giant's facial features are detailed: goggle eyes, a carnivorous, shark-like mouth, and a yawn like a sarcophagus.
- He is identified as an Anthropophagus (man-eater).
- The giant's brain is described as heavy, like lead, despite often having multiple heads.
- His attire includes bare arms and legs, buskins, a philabeg, and a body-coat of mail resembling a crocodile's tail.
- He wears a crown and carries an adamant-spiked mace capable of smashing a bull's skull or an elephant's brains.
- The giant's voice is noted to be louder and gruffer than a tempest.
- The narrator concludes the description of this uncouth 'buffer'.
Characters
The Giant ★ protagonist
A hulking lout of monstrous size, about as high as a giraffe. His waist is approximately three yards in girth. When he walks, he shakes the earth. His build is massive and powerful, with bare, muscular arms and legs.
Attire: He wears buskins (calf-high boots) and a philabeg (a type of kilt or skirt). His torso is covered by a body-coat of mail, made of steel or brazen scales, shining like the back of a crocodile's tail. He also wears a crown.
Wants: Not explicitly stated, but implied to be driven by his monstrous nature and perhaps a desire for dominance or sustenance.
Flaw: His brain 'partaking strongly of lead' suggests a significant intellectual weakness or dullness, despite having multiple crania.
The story is a descriptive character sketch, so no narrative arc is present for the Giant.
Monstrous, uncouth, powerful, intimidating, and somewhat dim-witted ('brain partaking strongly of lead'). He is described as an Anthropophagus, implying a cannibalistic or man-eating nature.
Image Prompt & Upload
A monstrously tall male figure, as high as a giraffe, standing upright and facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. He has a massive, hulking build with bare, muscular arms and legs. His face features large, round, goggle-like eyes, and a wide, carnivorous mouth. He wears dark leather buskins on his lower legs, a dark green philabeg, and a shining body-coat of mail made of overlapping steel scales covering his torso. A simple, heavy golden crown sits on his head. He holds a massive, spiked mace made of dark, heavy metal in his right hand. He has a scowling, intimidating expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
The Giant's Domain
A vast, rugged landscape that trembles under the Giant's immense weight, suggesting a wild, untamed environment where human scale is dwarfed.
Mood: Foreboding, dangerous, immense, desolate.
This is the general setting where the Giant exists and moves, demonstrating his destructive power and scale.
Image Prompt & Upload
A desolate, windswept mountain range under a stormy, bruised sky, with jagged peaks and deep, shadowed valleys. The ground is a mix of loose scree and massive, ancient boulders, some cracked and shifted as if by immense force. A distant, hazy horizon suggests an endless, untamed wilderness. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
