Posts Tagged: theatre

  • A cartoon from Punch magazine showing Punch (the character) visiting an ailing John Bull representing Britain.

    The origin of cartoon in Punch magazine

    Last week I had a look at the word ‘illustration’. This week to stay in the same world I want to tell you the story about the word ‘cartoon’, because the reading I did last week reminded me of this great little story. The word histories of illustration and cartoon are quite different but they […]

  • Groteske Komödie in den Zeichnungen von Lodovico Ottavio Burnacini (1636-1707). This scene shows three figures: Arlecchino between his companion Brighella in a white costume with brown decorative cords and a thick nurse from the people, which should perhaps be embodied by a man

    Harlequin and commedia dell’arte

    Harlequin is one of those intriguing words that we come across commonly but its origins are not quite as familiar. English has adopted the word harlequin to mean a distinctive multi-coloured pattern. And we also know that Harlequin is a theatre character. But how does it fit together and what is the origin of the name? […]

  • IMAGE actor superimposed over audience. The groundlings were also known as stinkards or penny-stinkers as they smelled of garlic and sweat having come from their workplaces

    Groundlings pelting pippins at Hamlet

    Academics and teachers ask us to revere Shakespeare as the greatest of English writers but ironically they damage him by creating a false perception that his work is high-brow. Over the many years that I have watched Shakespeare plays and read about him and his works. The thing that comes out most clearly to me […]

  • Charles Macklin (1699-1797) LEFT and Samuel Foote (1720 –1777) RIGHT—the great panjandrum

    Do you remember the Grand Panjandrum?

    In my word-of-the week I love exploring the way a word has been created or adopted into English. I do try to avoid obscure words if they are  specialised or only being used by people who are showing off. However, if the story behind a word is whimsical enough I will make an exception. So it is with […]

  • IMAGE: Romeo and Juliet illustration—not quite a soliloquy

    To be or not to be a soliloquy

    When you mention soliloquy there is only one thing that pops into your head—Shakespeare! Shakespeare was both playwright and poet (and it is his birthday today, 23 April 1564). His language had its greatest power when he was exploring the inner thoughts of his most important characters. The most remembered moments in Shakespeare’s plays are […]

  • It is Christmas party season and I love to go out and socialise although I always have a fear of making a faux pas or a gaffe

    Gaffe about gaff

    Gaffe or gaff is a loan word from French. It was first borrowed to describe a boathook (a gaff) and then later to describe saying the wrong thing (a gaffe).

  • Afraid of the dark, Lagerboy. Photoshopped Hobgoblin advertisement from Wychwood Brewery.

    Advertising hobgoblins

    What is a hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a mythological or magical sprite (an elf or fairy) that is smaller than a goblin but far more mischievous. (It is a common mistake to think that a hobgoblin is larger than a goblin.) The goblin, apparently, originated in France, as a Gobelin, a particular sprite haunting parts […]