Solution to Successively More Abundant in Verbiage

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Answer: ROMEO AND JULIET

by Dai Yang

This puzzle is about Increasingly Verbose memes, a format in which increasingly wordy restatements of a simple phrase are paired with increasingly bad (or JPEG-compressed) drawings of something related to that phrase. This is clued by the fact that the drawings in the puzzle come in pairs, with the bottom image in each pair drawn worse than the top one, and also by the fact that the title of the puzzle, Successively More Abundant in Verbiage, is itself a verbosification of "increasingly verbose."

Each pair of drawings is associated with a literary classic, either from its plot-related motifs or from its book cover. For example, the two first drawings depict guillotines, which clues A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and the last two drawings depict balls of grey twine, which clues To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Each image also contains a distinct roman numeral from 1 to 32 inclusive. The images are sorted alphabetically by book title.

However, the verbose paragraphs do not come in pairs, and it is up to the solver to find two verbose paragraphs for each literary classic that state a famous quote from that classic. In keeping with the flavor of the meme, the more verbose paragraph is always associated with the lower, worse-drawn image, and hence a larger roman numeral. But as an added twist, each paragraph is not a direct verbosification of the original quote, but rather of modified quote in which one of the words has a letter replaced. For example, this paragraph:

It was simultaneously the superlative among coin currencies displaying benign properties, as well the superlative among coin currencies displaying malignant properties.

Is a lengthier version of:

It was the best of dimes, it was the worst of dimes.

Which is a modification of the first sentence from A Tale of Two Cities. The full set of associations between verbose paragraphs and literary quotes is as follows.

Verbose Paragraph Source Original Quote Modified Quote Letter Numeral
It was simultaneously the superlative among coin currencies displaying benign properties, as well the superlative among coin currencies displaying malignant properties. A TALE OF TWO CITIES IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES IT WAS THE BEST OF DIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF DIMES D 11
A paradoxical superposition would be the most suitable logical structure with which to describe the era in question, given that it was span of chronological proximity during which an observer would describe the state of society as having reached a local extremum vis-à-vis conditions conducive to fruitful and salutary living, overlapping with an encasing of seasoned ground meat of Germanic origin that has earned sufficient distinction to serve as an an epochal landmark. A TALE OF TWO CITIES IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WURST OF TIMES U 30
Within the kingdom Animalia, members share a state of mutual equivalence along one or more axes, yet select members present this property more saliently than molecules consisting of an alkyl or aryl group, an oxygen atom, and an alkyl or aryl group. ANIMAL FARM ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN ETHERS E 5
The comprehensive set of heterotrophic, motile, eukaryotic organisms satisfies binary relationships which are commonly required by mathematicians to exhibit three properties: symmetry, reflexivity, and transitivity. However, there exist a plural number of members of this set which are non-lutrine, and furthermore distinguished by possessing a variant of this property which is of greater degree or multiplicity when juxtaposed against lutrine members of this set. ANIMAL FARM ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTTERS T 15
On one hand, if the man navigated the air, he must be in a state comparable to lunacy and therefore had no obligation to do so; on the other hand, if the man neglected to do so, he must be a trigonometric function and hence duty-bound. CATCH 22 IF HE FLEW THEM HE WAS CRAZY AND DIDN'T HAVE TO; BUT IF HE DIDN'T WANT TO HE WAS SANE AND HAD TO IF HE FLEW THEM HE WAS CRAZY AND DIDN'T HAVE TO; BUT IF HE DIDN'T WANT TO HE WAS SINE AND HAD TO I 13
The hermeneutical dichotomy arose from twain possibilities. Under the hypothetical where the male adult performed the act of violent destruction, he was in possession of the alibi of being neuropsychotic or otherwise perturbed. Under the alternative hypothetical where the male adult did not align his intentions with said act, he found himself with a dearth of alibis on account of his cognition of the state of the world being rooted in that which is verifiably factual. CATCH 22 IF HE FLEW THEM HE WAS CRAZY AND DIDN'T HAVE TO; BUT IF HE DIDN'T WANT TO HE WAS SANE AND HAD TO IF HE SLEW THEM HE WAS CRAZY AND DIDN'T HAVE TO; BUT IF HE DIDN'T WANT TO HE WAS SANE AND HAD TO S 18
I would count it among the enterprises which I retrospectively regard as generally welcome and congenial, that of performing interment for an object or individual beneath the soil. FAHRENHEIT 451 IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BURN IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BURY Y 8
It is through a metaphorical lens tinted by a saccharine sentiment of contentment and indulgence that the intentionally unstated happenings which have come to fruition are recognized by the municipality exerting primary de facto influence in the federal republic which attained its status of prominence through aversion to altercation and belligerence, or alternatively by the populace residing in said municipality metonymically. FAHRENHEIT 451 IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BURN IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BERN E 16
In a tone of grave sobriety, I seal a pact vowing that my plans and intentions for the events which will soon transpire are forborn from involving any low-ranking personnel of a criminal gang or syndicate. HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I AM UP TO NO GOON N 6
Summoning an air of sedateness commonly associated with a religious invocation or ceremony, I commence the hypothalamus-induced secretion of apocrine fluids in response to the disquietude I feel over the actions which I will perform or assist in performing in the time to come hereafter, as said actions will not result in the betterment of oneself or others according to widespread principles of virtue. HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD I SOLEMNLY SWEAT THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD T 21
An adage was inscribed on an unspecified surface that I should position myself in the general domain of the simulated experiences during rapid eye movement sleep of unpalatable nature of my choosing. HEART OF DARKNESS IT WAS WRITTEN I SHOULD BE LOYAL TO THE NIGHTMARE OF MY CHOICE IT WAS WRITTEN I SHOULD BE LOCAL TO THE NIGHTMARE OF MY CHOICE C 20
Nonspecific authors have deliberately etched lexical patterns of logographic or abecedarian nature, the semantics of which embed a message concerning my recommended behavior, stipulating that it should not be unlike that of an emperor or tsaritsa when directed toward the oneirologically-generated sequences of sensory signals frequently associated with abhorrence or trepidation which I have voluntarily elected to designate. HEART OF DARKNESS IT WAS WRITTEN I SHOULD BE LOYAL TO THE NIGHTMARE OF MY CHOICE IT WAS WRITTEN I SHOULD BE ROYAL TO THE NIGHTMARE OF MY CHOICE R 31
The possibility is considerable that there exists a swagger-satiated claim about one's own virtues, though the same could be said of the possibility that the absence of such a claim leaves our group in a peerless state. LORD OF THE FLIES MAYBE THERE IS A BEAST...MAYBE IT'S ONLY US MAYBE THERE IS A BOAST...MAYBE IT'S ONLY US O 10
One could posit no fewer than two hypotheses modeling our current state, one being the existence of at least one eukaryotic microorganism capable of converting carbohydrates into alcohols and releasing gaseous compounds in the process, and the other being that the set of persons within our immediate entourage can be considered solitary when taking into consideration the geographical isolation sequestering us from persons not within said entourage. LORD OF THE FLIES MAYBE THERE IS A BEAST...MAYBE IT'S ONLY US MAYBE THERE IS A YEAST...MAYBE IT'S ONLY US Y 12
The day-night period following this one, and the day-night period following that one, and the day-night period following that one, all surreptitiously transpire in this frivolous competition of speed spanning one such period to the next. MACBETH TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, CREEPS IN THIS PETTY PACE FROM DAY TO DAY TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, CREEPS IN THIS PETTY RACE FROM DAY TO DAY R 17
Three, which metaphorically denotes a cardinality that transcends reasonable working memory, is the number of elapsed circadian periods caused by the Blue Planet rotating along its own axis. This passing of said circadian periods can be characterized as clandestinely encroaching on the outer fringes of one's conscience, owing to the contemptible significance of its rate of flow between one Latinic elder month to the subsequent Latinic elder month. MACBETH TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, CREEPS IN THIS PETTY PACE FROM DAY TO DAY TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, CREEPS IN THIS PETTY PACE FROM MAY TO MAY M 28
The location in question is not marked down on any flat simulacrum commonly adorned with geometry, topography, and other cartological properties, for the reason that nary an arboreal location is depicted on a simulacrum of said type. MOBY DICK IT IS NOT DOWN ON ANY MAP; TRUE PLACES NEVER ARE IT IS NOT DOWN ON ANY MAP; TREE PLACES NEVER ARE E 19
Regarding the locus or general vicinity thereof most pertinent to the current discussion, there does not exist a visual-spatial depiction of said locus on an arbitrary stemmed apparatus for grime expungement via adhesion to humidified coarse strings. Relatedly, a generalization of this statement is that for all loci which are considered bona fide, there does not exist a visual-spatial depiction of the aforementioned variety. MOBY DICK IT IS NOT DOWN ON ANY MAP; TRUE PLACES NEVER ARE IT IS NOT DOWN ON ANY MOP; TRUE PLACES NEVER ARE O 29
One who experiences romantic or sexual attraction toward people of the same sex will enter a mental state comparable to lunacy if one is thoroughly lacking companionship. OF MICE AND MEN A GUY GOES NUTS IF HE AINT GOT NOBODY A GAY GOES NUTS IF HE AINT GOT NOBODY A 3
A male of the homo sapiens species will progressively resemble open meshed utilities capable of contorting into latticed enclosures for capturing gill-bearing aquatic vertebrates associated with a pescatarian diet, under the condition where the interactions involving said male are devoid of social or physical proximity to one or more other members of the homo sapiens species with whom a bond can be forged. OF MICE AND MEN A GUY GOES NUTS IF HE AINT GOT NOBODY A GUY GOES NETS IF HE AINT GOT NOBODY E 22
Summarily I contend that of all enjoyable pastimes there does not exist any which rivals the decoding of collections of semantically-enriched symbols, and that one swiftly grows weary of any object that is not a curved metallic grappling implement commonly used by seafaring pilferers. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE I DECLARE AFTER ALL THERE IS NO ENJOYMENT LIKE READING! HOW MUCH SOONER ONE TIRES OF ANY THING THAN OF A BOOK! I DECLARE AFTER ALL THERE IS NO ENJOYMENT LIKE READING! HOW MUCH SOONER ONE TIRES OF ANY THING THAN OF A HOOK! H 1
Following a comprehensive analysis encompassing my past experiences, I assertively extol, among all undertakings associated with the release of dopamine, the act of gathering cultivated carbohydrate-rich plants such as wheat or rye for consumption or commerce, and moreover feel compelled to remark the alacrity with which any person who interacts with an object will experience mental fatigue or ennui unless said object is a bound assemblage of inkblots on flattened fiber. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE I DECLARE AFTER ALL THERE IS NO ENJOYMENT LIKE READING! HOW MUCH SOONER ONE TIRES OF ANY THING THAN OF A BOOK! I DECLARE AFTER ALL THERE IS NO ENJOYMENT LIKE REAPING! HOW MUCH SOONER ONE TIRES OF ANY THING THAN OF A BOOK! P 24
Hypothetically, I thought that my best course of action would be to conceal my own identity by blending among those persons located at the bottom layer of a binary search tree who do not possess the ability to verbalize language. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE I THOUGHT WHAT I'D DO WAS I'D PRETEND I WAS ONE OF THOSE DEAF-MUTES I THOUGHT WHAT I'D DO WAS I'D PRETEND I WAS ONE OF THOSE LEAF-MUTES L 7
In the simulated alternate branch of reality I conjured with my mental faculties, I considered a multitude of sequences of actions by which I could proceed, and determined that the preferential sequence of actions to follow was one where I deceived those interacting with myself into forming a specious cognition of my state of being, wherein I seamlessly appeared as a hybrid of one experiencing anacusis and one bearing the closeness of a pal or companion. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE I THOUGHT WHAT I'D DO WAS I'D PRETEND I WAS ONE OF THOSE DEAF-MUTES I THOUGHT WHAT I'D DO WAS I'D PRETEND I WAS ONE OF THOSE DEAF-MATES A 25
Due to the fact that I have forfeited my immaterial spirit to your possession, I request as an appropriate exchange that you grant me retention of my honorable title commonly given to female members of a chivalric order or baronetesses. THE CRUCIBLE I HAVE GIVEN YOU MY SOUL LEAVE ME MY NAME I HAVE GIVEN YOU MY SOUL LEAVE ME MY DAME D 23
I call upon the causal implicature whose antecedent is my transpired decision to relinquish my right of proprietorship over my unitary essence of existence and will, and whose natural predicate wherefore is that you should contractually confer my right of proprietorship over mine own proper appellation back to me, wherein periodic remuneration will be established as the requisite condition for the persistence of said proprietorship. THE CRUCIBLE I HAVE GIVEN YOU MY SOUL LEAVE ME MY NAME I HAVE GIVEN YOU MY SOUL LEASE ME MY NAME S 32
Consequently, we persist in the forward propulsion of our buoyant watercrafts, antithetical to the momentum of the medium fluid, and are thus held in a continuous cycle of being motioned into the Orient. THE GREAT GATSBY SO WE BEAT ON, BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT, BORNE BACK CEASELESSLY INTO THE PAST SO WE BEAT ON, BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT, BORNE BACK CEASELESSLY INTO THE EAST E 2
The conclusion to the events which have transpired heretofore is the perpetuation of our endeavors to exert momentum on our locomotion vessels, which are vertically sustained by displacement forces due to substances that deform under shear stress, in opposition to the red or black berry, a process during which our locomoting apparatuses and ourselves are indefatigably ushered in retrograde into the era of yesterday. THE GREAT GATSBY SO WE BEAT ON, BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT, BORNE BACK CEASELESSLY INTO THE PAST SO WE BEAT ON, BOATS AGAINST THE CURRANT, BORNE BACK CEASELESSLY INTO THE PAST A 27
Regarding organisms in the ursidae family, one notes the bifurcation between ursines that pose written or verbal requests seeking information, and ursines that fulfill said written or verbal requests. THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD THERE ARE YEARS THAT ASK QUESTIONS AND YEARS THAT ANSWER THERE ARE BEARS THAT ASK QUESTIONS AND YEARS THAT ANSWER B 9
In subdividing the set of derrières into logically appeasing categories, one can pigeonhole gluteals in twain boxes based on a singular discriminant-like property, namely whether the backside through its dialectic queries exhibits the perspective of one beseeching conciliation or edification, or through its dialectic responses exhibits the perspective of one offering denouement to the aforementioned beseecher. THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD THERE ARE YEARS THAT ASK QUESTIONS AND YEARS THAT ANSWER THERE ARE REARS THAT ASK QUESTIONS AND YEARS THAT ANSWER R 26
The creatures in question do not consume from greenhouses of the populace, nor become exercisable as equity like stock options in granaries of corn, and in fact engage in no other activity aside from the zealous production of harmonic frequencies for our sake. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD THEY DON'T EAT UP PEOPLE'S GARDENS, DON'T NEST IN CORN CRIBS, THEY DON'T DO ONE THING BUT SING THEIR HEARTS OUT FOR US THEY DON'T EAT UP PEOPLE'S GARDENS, DON'T VEST IN CORN CRIBS, THEY DON'T DO ONE THING BUT SING THEIR HEARTS OUT FOR US V 4
One enumerating the behaviors innate to the pertinent organism may exclude from them the gormandizing of horticultural plots or the erection of domiciles concealing avian offspring within receptacles of repose designated for infants like Verdandi, and in fact may bar all behaviors from said enumeration save for the passion-gorged oscillation of their syrinx musculature along mellifluous progressions of inverse periods with the intent of eliciting a favorable response from ourselves. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD THEY DON'T EAT UP PEOPLE'S GARDENS, DON'T NEST IN CORN CRIBS, THEY DON'T DO ONE THING BUT SING THEIR HEARTS OUT FOR US THEY DON'T EAT UP PEOPLE'S GARDENS, DON'T NEST IN NORN CRIBS, THEY DON'T DO ONE THING BUT SING THEIR HEARTS OUT FOR US N 14

Sorting the modified letters based on roman numerals, we get the phrase HEAVENLY BODY INTERSECTED PARAMOURS. This phrase is a verbosification of the epithet STAR CROSSED LOVERS, meaning tragic lovers, which is best known in literature as an epithet for Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET.

Author’s Notes

I have a soft spot for puzzles about memes. Not only are memes hilarious, they also convey implicit information through imagery and position in a neatly-packed way, which is often true of puzzles as well. This puzzle was somewhat inspired by another meme puzzle: Now Get Ready For... from Galactic Puzzle Hunt 2018. Drawings images for this puzzle was hard because given my artistic skills, both the top image and the bottom image end up looking bad, yet I need the top image to look relatively less bad. On the other hand, writing verbose paragraphs is tremendously fun, and I had to force myself to stay under 300 characters for the shorter paragraphs, and 500 characters for the longer paragraphs.

For the final extraction, I knew I wanted to clue a verbosification of a quote from Romeo and Juliet, and ended up choosing HEAVENLY BODY INTERSECTED PARAMOURS because STAR CROSSED LOVERS is more than just a memorable quote, it is an epithet for the protagonists themselves. That said, I did consider alternate quotes such as I MASTICATE MY FIRST DIGIT AT THEE, or O FELICITOUS POIGNARD THINE SCABBARD IS THE FOLLOWING.