What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
By Tamosree1993
@Tamosree1993 (1525)
India
April 27, 2012 7:07am CST
Men are often victims of their own phrase-making and name-giving power. They give names to things and then become passionately attached to these names which become inseparable from the things they connote. They have an inherent sense of fitness which urges them to find sweet names for sweet and lovely things. Then they become the victims of an illusion and mistake the name for the thing. They would strongly resent any attempt to alter the name of a thing with which their ears have been familiar. They would consider it a kind of sacrilege, a desecreation of beauty.
Shakespeare with his great insight into human nature here fixes attention on this particular trait of human nature. He suggests that we are making too much of a name. After all, the thing has an existence and appeal of its own apart from the name-lebel attached to it. A rose is prized not because of its name with its sweet associations but because of its own delicate beauty and sweet fragrances. If we could give some other neme to it, it would have its essence unchanged.
So we should form the habit of detaching the thing from the name and not be outraged if an ugly name is attached to a lovely thing. It is the thing that matters; the name is merely an outer vesture which may be changed at will.
2 responses
@honest_efforts100 (1607)
• India
17 Oct 12
Giving names to people, subjects is our way of defining every and each of us (human, animal, plant). I agree males tend to give various names more often to loving ones. For me, it"s a kindness. I like to call my girlfriend using different names simply because I KNOW it makes her feel loved. Still, it"s just a small detail. Don"t give too much attention to it - what matter more is the reason why we do it.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
29 Apr 12
I get what you are saying and have wondered..although with people and human instinct...I don't waste much time over it... I think it all has to do with simply...BUZZ WORDS. What SOUNDS good, as opposed to what SMELLS good or TASTES good or is PRETTY.
Look at it like this... you see a beautiful flower ...would you go up to it and stick you nose to it if someone said "hey, look a that red cow dung flower over there!" No you wouldn't, but if they say "Hey, look at that red rose flower over there!".. you probably would.
If someone said to ...."wow...look at that hunk of flesh over there!" you might turn and look, but wouldn't be to much in a hurry to do so. But if they say "Wow...look at that sexy body over there!"...you'd give yourself whip-lash to turn to see it!
Yes, they are the same thing...but called something different is what gives them the appeal and the interest. It is all the "peak of interest" that we all have that can be so easily enticed and swayed ... with simply one word.
It is kind of like in the work place...the (no a no-no) phrase of "team player"...boy in the early 2000's that was the buzz word, that is what everyone wanted and that is just what put you on the top of the list for a job! But now... that word is "de-funct" and the job guru's are now saying..."don't use that word in your resume or at your interview". Why? Because before it was hot, it meant something, you knew what it was/meant without even seeing it. Now...in this case.. it has just run its course and people are just looking for a good employee (those that are looking anyway!) and don't have time to waste trying to be cool and uppity and politically correct.
Hey. look behind you! There's something behind you!
Answer: If you are a man, it is your wife. If you are a wife, it is your husband.
But if I had just said "look behind you at your wife/husband." how fast would you have turned to see the person? Not very fast. However...since I caught your peak of interest... you looked back to see what was there!
