by any other name would smell as sweer" (Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare)
Once I wanted to try reading Shakespeare - in English - because everybody seemedto be talking about and referring to his plays, especially Romeo and Juliet, which is said to be the most popular lovestory in the word.
I failed. Neither could I admire the (as I was told9great lanuage nor the beautiful poetry because I couln't even keep up with the story (although I already had a general idea about it)!
When I later found a bilangual edition in the library, I decided to give Shakespeare a second try - to sum it up, I still didn't understand a lot of the English part (and the German translation was terrible to read because of an awful style & language), but at least I somehow made my way through the whoe play.
The quotation above this text is one of the very few things that still lingered in my mind after I finished it.
Names are only names. They don't say anything about the person that bears them. As I remember the context, juliet said this to Romeo (or was it the other way around?). She was saying that his family name didn't matter to her at all because she loved him, as a person, and not as a member of the hated family. That whatever name he would bear could not change anything about is personality and the way she was seeing him.
As the end of the story shows, not everyone is able to think like tha. For the rest of her family, his name mattered a great deal.
What first caught my eye was the picture of the rose, and the truth behind it.
I very much agree as I, for example, do not love roses because of the word but because of what they are - beautiful, wonderfully fragrant flowers.
Even if one likes the word, this likely happens due to the image it creates in one's head. Same way with disapproval. That's why nobody of Julias relatives could accept Romeo and this is also the reason why I always cringe when I'm introduced to a person whose first name awakes bad memories. Luckily this always disappears as soon as I get to know him or her.
A name doesn't make up or pins down anyone - not even a rose.
hahha and you tell me my texts are long xD i like the fact that you're critical about what you read and also it shows that you're able to reflect philosophically about things and apply them to your life...and i like the picture :) though i prefer red roses cause the white ones somehow remind me of my dead great-granny (because of the colour, not the flower itself.. i mean they're still beautiful, but to me they have something sad about them)
AntwortenLöschenthanks for the compliment (and for trying to stay political correct :)
LöschenYou're in some ways right about red roses ...a red rose would have fit better to the text, but all red-rose-photos I had sucked and this was really the best one! By the way, I do prefer white roses. Not because of the colour ;) but because of the scent (did you know that not only every sort but mainly every colour has a special fragrance? ok, I know I'm somehow freaky... )
oh i have to correct myself, your comment was actually about the number of topics in my post not about the length of my text x)
AntwortenLöschenOkay Jessi, *thumbs up* for: not making it superficial, and yet not as dreadfully long as I tend to make things. Please teach me this, cuz I SUCK at it. Like your writing style, in a way it reminds me of my own way of expressing myself... but that's not WHY I like it x)) - I just think it's awesome to read things my classmates have written cuz I never get the chance to.. :)
AntwortenLöschenpffhh, your texts are in no way too long, they're so ...captivating that I wouldn't mind it if they were twice as long! I like to read more of your texts (I totally agree with you, it's great to read what our classmates prodce!)
Löschenand thanks for what you've said about my writing style - wasn't so sure about that (other comments pointed in the direction of 'matching shakespeares superficial language/ barely understandable ...)
hey katja, i agree with jessi about the wouldn't mind if they were twice as long part x)) and captivating was what i was trying to express when i said that no time seems to pass when i'm reading your texts (becuz they're -and i have to use the german words, cuz you can't express it so obviously oppositional with the english words - kurzweilig and not langweilig)...and jessi, is it really the COLOUR that smells? o.o wow, i didn't know that...
Löschen..see, THIS is why you both need a profile pic, I'm so used to fb, only looking at the little thumbnail (that's the orange thing in your case, with the B or G :P) and then I have no clue who wrote the comment - I'm a bit too lazy to read the name you know ;P... thanks guys, that's almost a bit too much praise for my little self.. :) I'm glad I don't bore you...
Löschen@Jessi: I never read Shakespeare but I HEARD that he has a great writing style, need to check it out myself.. what comments? oh and feel HONORED if someone says your style is too high for them, just shows that they are below your level ;) x)) and I think it's perfectly understandable (:
@ gwen: the colour definetely has something to do with the scent of a rose if you ask me, but I can't explain how and why. you'd have to try it out on your own!
Löschen@ katja: ok, I'll find a profile pic for you lazy facebookie(s?)! would you believe me if I told you that I even have thought about that already - before your comments? a propos comments: those I mentioned were oral ones and not really meant negative or something - but thanks anyway! :D
Hmm ... actually I had commented on this entry ... but somehow it got lost apparently.
AntwortenLöschenJust a few thoughts:
First, I was thinking of the novel "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco when I read the title of the entry ;-)
Second, there is the German Proverb "Namen sind Schall und Rauch" which came to my mind upon reading the entry.
Third, I agree that Shakespeare is everything but an easy read!
Fourth, being introduced to person whose looks or names remind you of some bad experiences is always awkward ... still, as you said correctly, J, it's totally worth not giving up! Something great can come out of it :-)
Got me :-) ! I thought nobody would recognise that my title is kind of a quotation too - just came to my mind when I thought about a heading for a text about names and roses... I knew the title although I've never read Umberto Ecos novels.
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