[lit-ideas] Re: How Obscure Can He Get? (Was: Shakespeare's 'Patience on a Monument')
- From: Michael Chase <goya@xxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 19:01:41 +0200
Le 17 sept. 04, =E0 17:58, Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx a =E9crit :
<snip>
>
> Note the subtlety:
>
>
> There's lots of stuff that is obscure in Shakespeare
> =20
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Balderdash to Ritchie's argument that an emblem book
> depicting Patienzia is _too_ obscure to
> be Shakespeare's source.
>
> ----
>
> Gist:
>
> What is obscure to Ritchie may not be obscure to Shakespeare? And that
> Ritchie is being overhasty in claiming something would be 'obscure' or=20=
> 'too
> obscure' for something to be a source in Shakespeare?
M.C. The latter, rather. I take Ritchie's argument to have been:
a) If Shakespeare had used an image than alluded to an emblem =
book,=20
then
b) such obscurity would not have been understood by the hoi =
polloi who=20
attended the Globe. But
c) Shakespeare did not wish to fail be understood,
Therefore
----------------------------------------------------
d) Shakespeare did not intend such an allusion.
I'm simply arguing that if
A) it is *always* true that Shakespeare avoided obscure =
allusions, =20
then
-----------------------------------------------------------
B) There would be no obscure allusions in Shakespeare. But
C) There *are* obscure allusions in Shakespeare ("rather a lot,=20=
actually", as Eric Idle replied to John Cleese when asked how much rat=20=
there was in the strawberry tart). Therefore,
-------------------------------------------------------
~ B. And therefore, by modus tollens,
------------------------
~A. But if ~A, then Shakespeare did not always avoid obscure=20
allusions. Therefore, there are occasions when Shakespeare did use=20
obscure allusions. And the case of sitting on a rock, clearly a=20
reference to the emblematic tradition, is one of them.
Anyhow, that's how I think it goes.
Best, Mike
>
Michael Chase
(goya@xxxxxxxxxxx)
CNRS UPR 76
7, rue Guy Moquet
Villejuif 94801
France
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