“A great feast of language and the stolen scraps”:

“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo? Deny thy father, and refuse thy name”, not only is it known what play this is from, most know the scene (Romeo and Juliet, 2.2.33-49). The lines invoke memories of some high school production foisted upon us by some sadistic instructor. Shakespeare’s words are well known and often used in our modern society; is the intent of the writer, William Shakespeare clear in its usage today? Examination and speculation are the only chances at understanding what Shakespeare meant when he wrote some of his more remembered lines. Politics, religion, the belief of the super-natural, and recorded history, all form a context by which his original meaning could be shaped. What forms our understanding and use of Shakespeare’s phrasings is being formed as this paper is being written; it is our politics, beliefs, and current living conditions that dictate our interpretation. The language and expressions, in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, compose common phrases in our society, keeping forever young the plight of the doomed lovers and immortalizing the author.
Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets are challenging works to analyze for scholars much less young people who are exposed in a compulsory systematic attempt to acquaint them with literature. The problem with teaching Shakespeare in high school is the plays were written to be enjoyed as theatre productions. The amateur performances of high school actors do not deliver the same vivid imagery and flow of language of a professional performance. Shakespearean study should begin earlier in the educational system; videos, if not live performances, should at least be shown by sixth grade. Familiarity with the language will assist a student greatly when it comes time to read the text and analyze the material in high school and college. The nuances, delivered by creative interpretation, form the full beauty of the language and images that students today could appreciate if seen, though are lost when only read.
Shakespeare’s words are well known and often used in our modern society; is the intent of writer, William Shakespeare clear in its usage today? There are some very popular lines in the most famous, oft quoted, Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet. Fashionable in his day, legendary in ours, William Shakespeare is often referred to as The Bard. Shakespeare is the benchmark by which other creators of epic poetry are measured. His words are as familiar to our daily speech as their meanings are a reflection of our lives.
There is a general lack of appreciation for language in America today. We use words but have no idea what they really mean or even where they originate. It is not necessary to know these details, one may think, but it provides the speaker with additional reference and context. Ancient poet and satirist, Horace reminds us, “Many brave men lived before Agamemnon, but all are weighed down in unending night, unwept and unknown, because they lacked a sacred bard” (bardquotes). Our experience is made richer by exposure to the writings of William Shakespeare. Though many not know or care from whence our phrases originate, we have an interpretation in our minds, formed the moment we heard the words uttered.
One very familiar phrase is used in a milder form today than the original language suggests. “A pair of star-crossed lovers”, is now a reference to any couple who seem fated not to be together by virtue of opposition of almost any nature (Romeo and Juliet, Prologue, 1-8). Usually quoted without the rest of the line it should read “…A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;” This changes the intensity and meaning of the words. The meanings are as fluid as time as generations and nations grow up and grow older. Whether the words generate thoughts of an “ill-fated” relationship sacrificing their love to warring familial factions or a pair of rebellious, sex obsessed, spoiled, rich teenagers, and their suicide pact, we are challenged to find ourselves and our own interpretations in the words of The Bard.
“A rose by any other word would still smell as sweet”; you would think there is nothing to be said about so simple a phrase(Romeo and Juliet, 2.2.44). There is some scholarly conversation about the word, word. Is the proper phrase, “A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet”? We don’t actually know which way it was originally written. The actual text is in question different interpretations exist. The meaning behind all the renditions have a common enough theme to surmise the overall concept was imparted to the audience.
One very popular saying has a very different concept than is intended in Shakespeare’s time. The term “wild goose chase” indicates a futile search, in our usage today. In the time of the Bard, it was a reference to a cross-country horse race of follow-the-leader (Holland). The term goose, as used in context, is also double-talk for a prostitute of Shakespeare’s day. We actually see some variation on that use of goose when women are referred to as “chicks” or the even less flattering term for crack addicted prostitutes “chicken-heads”. We can take liberty, as many have done before, in using a common fowl to replace the goose. Our language is ever changing in meaning as we expand our understanding of words and the human experience.
“A plague a both your houses” delivers the pragmatic Mercutio upon his death, not once but three times (3.1.90, 998-99,105). He is in the throws of death and curses the warring families in as strong and vile a manner as he can. The expression today simply means damn you. It is not as commonly used as other Shakespearean quotes but few will be unable to cite the author if queried. The original curse is far more sinister than damnation. In a time when the Plague, a horrific killing disease that frequently ravaged the world from the 14th to the 17th century, was prevalent, this curse takes on new meaning. It is a far viler and crueler curse when you examine the historical context.
Of course, no scholar or layman wordsmith can be certain the intent of Master Bard, William Shakespeare, so we content ourselves to quote him to express our deepest thoughts and emotions. If Shakespeare intended for us to examine the human condition, he accomplishes his purpose. His plays and sonnets have been performed and read for 400 years; their content, meaning, language have been a source for study and examination for as long a time. We take Shakespeare’s words and isolate them from their original context, changing the meaning in the name of academic, social, and cultural interpretation. Not stolen, but appropriated, many of Shakespeare’s words and expressions would not be recognizable if Shakespeare read them today.
We make assumptions on his choices and purpose for choosing the subject matter he does based on our knowledge of history, the compilation of bits of information from records of property, and letters and critiques by his contemporaries. There is a gift left to society, beyond the sheer poetry of the words; we have a generation of our own in which to interpret the meanings set against our cultural backdrop. We can infuse our interpretation with the historical archives to represent our politics, beliefs, and current living conditions. We have been given “a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps”, as paraphrased from Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost (feast).