[MR] BBC: Tudors and Food

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

Noble Friends, Especially Admirers of the Bard:

The BBC is featuring this interesting story about Tudor attitudes toward 
food, mostly as expressed through Shakespeare's plays. The article 
includes numerous, and often surprising . . . uh . . . crumbs of 
knowledge: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36072989 .

This article led me to muse on Shakespeare and the relevance of his 
language today. As you can see from the examples, the real meaning 
behind many of the Bard's words has been lost as our language evolved. 
Perhaps we have already passed the point where Shakespeare's true intent 
is intelligible to anyone but linguistic scholars. The Bard and his 
lesser contemporaries can still be appreciated for their plots, their 
insights into human nature, and the poetry of their dialogue, but the 
true meaning of their words has sadly been clouded by the passing years. 
Four hundred years is a long time, especially for as slippery a language 
as English (even French, which L'Academie tries to ossify, has radically 
changed its context).

I think I should watch FORBIDDEN PLANET again to at least appreciate 
Shakespeare's TEMPEST as 1950s sci-fi.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, That Sad Scot