Publicité
Bartleby?s sea change
Hello and welcome back to the English Language Clinic. This week I?ve been asked the meaning of an increasingly popular expression; ?sea change?. If something undergoes a ?sea change?, it is profoundly altered in some way. The phrase originally appeared in a song by Ariel, in Shakespeare?s ?The Tempest?. Although originally it was used to mean ?a change brought by the sea?, since the late nineteenth century, it has been used to refer to any massive change of attitude, opinion or direction.
Bartleby was an angry man; a misanthrope. He hated the way other people laughed and smiled and found joy in life. One day, he fell off his longsuffering horse, Giles. He lay on the ground, unable to move. A small girl, who was also going to the shops, stopped next to Bartleby?s outstretched body. The child told him everything would be alright. She took off her coat, made a cushion for Bartleby?s head and went to fetch help. From that day on Bartleby?s attitude to the world underwent a ?sea change?; it is now common to see him skipping along the road, greeting everyone he sees with the words ?life is great!?
The term ?sea change? is regarded by many as a cliché. It is often used to refer to changes which are not profound; if you decide to have a cup of tea tomorrow morning, rather than your usual coffee, it would be wrong to say that your drink preference had undergone a ?sea change?.
Please send your comments, queries and questions to me, at [email protected] or at [email protected]. If you wish to joining an intensive IELTS Preparation Course, please attend a placement test, at the British Council between 13/05/08 ? 17/05/08. For more info, please call +230 403 0200.
Publicité
Publicité
Les plus récents
