The English Novel in the Time of ShakespeareJusserand, J. J. (Jean Jules)
History
The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare
Jusserand, J. J. (Jean Jules)
English fiction -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism
Some critics of his time abused Nash for the liberties he took with the
vocabulary, especially for his foreign and compound words. He was ready
with this half-serious, half-jocose answer: "To the second rancke of
reprehenders, that complain of my boystrous compound wordes, and ending
my Italionate coyned verbes all in _ize_," such as "tympanize;
tirannize," says he elsewhere; "thus I replie: That no winde that blowes
strong but is boystrous; no speech or wordes of any power or force to
confute or perswade, but must be swelling and boystrous. For the
compounding of my wordes, therein I imitate rich men, who having
gathered store of white single money together, convert a number of those
small little scutes into great peeces of gold, such as double Pistoles
and Portugues. Our English tongue of all languages, most swarmeth with
the single money of monosillables, which are the onely scandall of it.
Bookes written in them and no other seeme like shopkeepers' bookes, that
containe nothing else save halfe-pence, three-farthings, and two-pences.
Therefore what did me I, but having a huge heape of those worth lesse
shreds of small English in my _pia maters_ purse, to make the royaller
shew with them to men's eye, had them to the compounders immediately,
and exchanged them foure into one, and others into more, according to
the Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian."[271]
Nash had a particular literary hatred for mere empty bombast. His love
for high-sounding words with a meaning was not greater than his aversion
for big sounds without one. Even his friend Marlowe does not escape his
censure for having trespassed in this particular beyond the limits of
good taste. Nash wonders "how eloquent our gowned age is growen of
late," and he has nothing but contempt for those "vainglorious
tragoedians who contend not so seriously to excel in action, as to
embowell the clowdes in a speach of comparison; thinking themselves more
than initiated in poets immortalitie, if they but once get Boreas by the
beard and the heavenlie bull by the deaw-lap."[272]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account