H04059 LANGUAGE REVERSALS - 9/21/04 - HARDY FORUM ARCHIVES
From: michael@perceptivecreation.co.uk
Subject: Antony - and Alex
Date: September 20, 2004 7:39:02 PM PDT
Hello all.
I had occasion to do a lot of work on the text of Antony & Cleopatra
earlier this year and came across a phenomenon which reminded me of Alex &
Tess.
Although I've seen 4 or 5 productions of the play, I hadn't read it before.
All the productions appear to have excised a compliment Antony makes twice
about Cleo when referring to her in conversation with others as "that great
fairy". An understandable cut clearly, but it reminded me of Alex summing
Tess up as she leaves for the carriers after their first meeting, as "What a
crumby girl" - also no longer usable for a drama audience!
Am I right in thinking that it's quite rare for the language to evolve by
causing a phrase to reverse its polarity - from complimentary to derogatory
for example? What seems more normal is for words to acquire a new meaning,
which is sometimes at the expense of an earlier meaning (eg "gay") and
sometimes runs alongside other meanings and may even die away after a short
term of fashion (eg the recent use of "pants" meaning rubbish)? Or go away
and then return (eg "cool").
These are certainly the only two examples of such a reversal I can remember
coming across. Is it the only example of such a jolting datedness in Hardy?
Best wishes
Michael Barry
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From: patrick@prassociates.co.uk
Subject: RE: Antony - and Alex
Date: September 21, 2004 10:10:48 AM PDT
Michael Barry said:
These are certainly the only two examples of such a reversal I
can remember coming across. Is it the only example of such a jolting datedness
in Hardy?
In England "wicked" has reversed its meaning, especially among the young, to
"something that is particularly good" though its old meaning is also
retained.
This makes, for example, Tess's remark "O, now I see how wicked I seem to
you!" ambiguous in modern usage, though I am sure all readers, young or old,
will understand perfectly well what she meant.
Patrick Roper
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From: michael@perceptivecreation.co.uk
Subject: Re: Antony - and Alex
Date: September 21, 2004 6:45:34 PM PDT
Yes - thanks Patrick - that is quite a new one. I guess it's a question of
whether it sticks or not as to whether future generations have to think
twice in order to interpret. Watch this space!
Michael
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From: Carolyn.McGrath@newham.gov.uk
Subject: Reversals
Date: September 23, 2004 3:57:07 AM PDT
Dear all
Is it rare for words to reverse their meaning? I can think of examples like
'Christian' or 'queer' being used first as derogatory terms and then
reclaimd by the targets of abuse as a proud means of identification. Can
anyone think of others?
I must say though that this trend in the UK to reverse meanings can be
unsettling - 'wicked' I knew, but my 8 year old threw me when his response
to my confident statement that we were having pie, his favourite, for dinner
was 'Sick!' - he assures me this is now a compliment!
Carolyn McGrath
EMA Advisory Teacher (KS3)
Ext:: 85024
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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu
Subject: Re: Reversals
Date: September 23, 2004 7:12:42 AM PDT
Folks -- I don't know about "reversal" but, getting back to Hardy, an editorial note may be needed from time to time, for the uninitiated. For instance when "leer" is applied to Tim Tankens in "The Bride-Night Fire" is doesn't mean he's feeling lascivious but empty and faint. And when the contraband liquor starts to taste "bleachy" ("Distracted Preacher") we should know that nobody has emptied Clorox into the barrel, rather that the liquor is "off." Or when Joan Durbeyfield uses the word "fess" to her daughter she isn't hinting at a confession but is expecting Tess to be excited and proud. And let us not mistake "husbird" for a cold-in-the-nose version of husband (UGT) -- for it might get us into trouble. It is a term of abuse and has its origin in "Whore's-bird."
And I'm sure there are dozens and dozens more!
Cheers,
Rosemarie
(with grateful thanks to Ralph Elliot's excellent *Thomas Hardy's English* (Blackwell, 1984)
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From: michael@perceptivecreation.co.uk
Subject: Re: Reversals
Date: September 23, 2004 5:48:58 PM PDT
I would certainly agree with that, Rosemarie - Hardy clearly has a wider
vocabulary than most of us lay readers (though not as bad as Shakespeare who
actually contributed hundreds of words to our vocabulary). I've always been
very fond of Tess' mum having a plim bosom! (I've always assumed "pride" not
having looked it up, or having an editorial note to refer to). But my
original posting referred to words and phrases that are still very much
current and not unknown - but which halt us in our tracks because they now
mean the opposite (in tonality) from Hardy's usage. It would seem that these
are in fact few and far between (in Hardy at least - though "leer" and
"bleachy" should indeed be added to a list of words having a developed
modern meaning), though maybe one day even these will need an editorial
note.
Michael
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From: dcorney@midcoast.com.au
Subject: Reversals
Date: September 24, 2004 3:16:13 AM PDT
Any living language is subject to semantic changes. Such changes have occurred throughout time. Thus "luxury" and "lust" have swapped meaning. The former was one of the seven deadly sins. "Cunning" originally had a positive meaning as "knowing" or "clever", the Bible speaks of 'cunning workmen'; similarly positive words like 'sly' and 'crafty' have also undergone negative shifts; 'silly' once meant 'saintly' while 'fond' meant 'foolish'. 'Prevent' meant 'go before' as in 'Prevent us, o Lord, in all our goings.'
"Heathen', 'pagan', 'churl', 'villain' and 'boer' all referred to dewllers in the country as probably did 'rustic'. 'Idiot' derived from one who kept aloof from Athenian democratic politics. Today they become our leaders.
"deer" meant any wild animal as in "wilderness", a place of wild animals, while "fowl" referred to any bird. The word change that I like best is "treacle", originally the bite of a wild animal.
I would be loth to sing one of the songs of my youth, "A bachelor, gay am I" except in the privacy of my own home. I was somewhat taken aback when my daughter informed me that one of my ex-students referred to me as "filthy", until she explained that it has a very positive connotation amongst today's youth, though I am still not sure.
A look at any good dictionary will provide lots of interesting reading as to the origin of the meanings of words.
Regards,
David Cornelius
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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu
Subject: Re: Reversals
Date: September 24, 2004 4:18:16 PM PDT
Don't you love it!
And I wouldn't worry about "filthy," David -- you must be old enough to remember "filthy rich"?
Besties,
Rosemarie
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From: hardycor@owl.csusm.edu
Subject: Re: Reversals
Date: September 26, 2004 7:24:27 AM PDT
I don't know how many of you subscribe to AWAD (a word a day), but today's
little motto struck me as rather appropriate to the discussion Michael
initiated about word change over time:
The living language is like a cow-path: it is the creation of the cows
themselves, who, having created it, follow it or depart from it according to
their whims or their needs. From daily use, the path undergoes change. A cow
is under no obligation to stay. -E.B. White, writer (1899-1985)
Best Wishes,
Betty
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From: segr@segr-music.net
Subject: RE: Reversals
Date: September 26, 2004 8:14:52 AM PDT
This is potentially a very subtle subject.
For instance, how interesting to veer away from the previous topic like
that, Betty!
Actually, you made me think straight away of the sheep-paths one finds
(and follows like Sylvia Plath in "Blackberrying")that are very persistent
sometimes. Perhaps the sheep-boy relied on this when looking for
stragglers(if the bees would let him)?
What is it that makes their habits differ from cows'?
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From: aghewitt@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Reversals
Date: September 29, 2004 11:57:43 AM PDT
A propos sheep- and cow-paths, the Victorian planners of our local cemetery
laid out two elegant serpentine paths and a central, tree-lined avenue.
These are now, 150 years later, criss-crossed and supplemented by various
tracks, short-cuts, etc. When writing a leaflet on the history of the
cemetery I learned that these paths, when made by humans, are called 'desire
lines', since they reflect the actual desires of people using a place. To me
this is a very Hardy phrase: I think of him visiting the graves of his loved
ones, thereby possibly treading out actual 'desire lines' in the turf, then
writing poems about them and producing a different kind of 'desire lines'.
Does anyone think Desire Lines would be a good title for a short essay on
Hardy's love poems to the departed?
Best wishes
A Hewitt
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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu
Subject: Re: Reversals
Date: September 29, 2004 4:07:15 PM PDT
Yep! I do!
And do send us a copy of your essay --?
Good luck, Andrew!
All best,
Rosemarie
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