Tuesday, January 24, 2012

All that Glisters?

I'm assuming we've all heard the phrase, "all that glitters is not gold." At this point I can't say that I was surprised to read it in one of Shakespeare's plays but I was curious if this phrase in The Merchant of Venice (Act II Scene VII) was a Shakespearean original or if he borrowed the phrase. (Especially because the line immediately following the phrase reads, "often have you heard that told.")
According to The Phrase Finder this is one that Shakespeare borrowed. It also says that the original text read, "all that glisters is not gold." It cites a few examples of the idea being expressed in literature pre-dating The Merchant of Venice:

-The 12th century French theologian Alain de Lille wrote "Do not hold everything gold that shines like gold".
-In 1553, we have Thomas Becon, in The relikes of Rome: "All is not golde that glistereth."
-George Turberville, in Tragical tales, (and other poems), 1587, wrote that "All is not gold that glistringly appeere."

I was also interested by the name "Shylock" in the play. In the 2005 movie Be Cool John Travolta plays a mobster-turned-movie producer named Chili Palmer and various times throughout the movie it is questioned whether or not he is/was a shylock. I didn't know what that meant when I saw the movie but I when I started into The Merchant of Venice and found that one of the main characters was named Shylock I was curious. I went to the most legitimate source of knowledge I could think of, Urban Dictionary, and found that "shylock" has come to be used as a term meaning, "a mafia loan money collector."

3 comments:

  1. I love your research about Shylock! That is great! I find these sorts of things fascinating.

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  2. I agree wtih Tara, the information about Shylock is awesome! It really is interesting to see how Shakespeare has integrated into our culture, especially with Urban Dictionary! Thanks!

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  3. How funny what Shylock has come to mean! Thanks for sharing this awesome research!

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