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Proverbium : Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship, Vol. 31 No. 1, 2014.

Original scientific paper

“Wearing One’s Heart on His Sleeve”: The Formation and Evolution of a (Shakespearean) Proverbial Phrase

Charles Clay Doyle orcid id orcid.org/0000-0001-7070-8811

Full text: english pdf 390 Kb

page 183-192

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Abstract

The proverbial phrase “wear one’s heart on his sleeve” derives from a line in Shakespeare’s Othello. It has taken on a variety of meanings and acquired variants in wording, most notably, the common substitution of an abstract noun for the metaphorical heart, and the frequent replacement of wear with hang or pin. The image of pinning to the sleeve has its own history, which antedates Shakespeare’s play.

Keywords

English proverbs; historical study of proverbs; Renaissance proverbs; modern proverbs; William Shakespeare; Thomas More

Hrčak ID:

278364

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/278364

Publication date:

31.8.2014.

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