SEMANTIC RELATIONS BETWEEN WORDS

SYNONYMY 

The problem of synonymy is of utmost importance for the study of a language, either theoretical or practical, but a universally accredited theory of synonymy is still lacking. Superficially, the notion of synonymy is a straightforward one: two words are synonyms if they have the same meanings. Consider the following examples: 

1. a. Mr. Smith is our postman. 1. b. Mr. Smith is our mailman. 2. a. Ann is skinny. 2. b. Ann is thin. 2. c. Ann is slender. 

ANTONYMS are words whose meanings are in a relation of opposition, e.g. dull ¹ clever; slow moving ¹ quick moving; unfeeling ¹ sensitive,  depressed ¹ in high spirits

· Sometimes the antonyms of two words may be restricted by the power to combine with different words: e.g. tall and low are antonyms only when used in combination with words denoting inanimate things:  a tall building ¹ a low building; the antonym of tall in a tall man is the adjective short (a short man); 

- other example: an old building ¹ a new building,  an old man ¹ a young man

HOMONYMS - are words alike but having different meanings. Homonyms may be:

a) words pronounced and spelt alike

b) words pronounced alike but spelt differently 

c) words spelt alike but pronounced differently

PARONYMS are very frequent in English and they are easily misunderstood. They are words that have either a close form or a close sound shape. Their meanings are not related. Sometimes more than two words are grouped in a paronymical series. 

e.g.  draft – draught    think – sink               effect – affect   sheep- ship

       low – law            device-devise             peace – piece

Sofocle - Antigona

                Sofocle a fost un poet tragic grec. Impreuna cu Eschil si Euripide, a pus bazele tragediei clasice grecesti. Aduce insemnate inovatii in tehnica teatrala. Opera marelui tragic , continuator al lui Eschil, cuprinde peste 120 de piese dintre care ne-au ramas in intregime. In crearea tragediilor, Sofocle se inspira din aceleasi izvoare ca si Eschil, ca si inaintasul sau, el face apel la cunoscutele legende si eroi mitologici, tematica unora dintre tragediile sale fiind asemanatoare cu a pieselor lui Eschil, sau continua pur si simplu tema abordata de acesta(de pilda, in Antigona, Sofofcle porneste de la momentul final al tragediei :Cei sapte contra Tebei. Antigona este o tragedie scrisa de Sofocle inainte de 442 i.Hr. sau chiar in acest an.
           Antigona a fost fiica lui Oedip, regele cetatii Theba, nascuta din dragoste incenstuoasa a aceastuia cu mama sa. Ca si Oedip rege, tragedia Antigona reprezinta una din cele mai pretioase creatii literare ale antichitatii. Antigona, cutezatoarea fiica a lui Oedip asista la dezastrul provocat de lupta dintre fratii ei, Eteocle si Polinke. Amandoi au cazut in lupta, iar tronul Tebei este ocupat de Creon. Regele dispune sa se organizeze inmormantarea lui Eteocle, aparatorul cetatii. Pt celalalt fiu a lui Oedip, Polinike - venit cu oaste straina sa cucereasca cetatea, se interzice chiar simpla inmormantare. Impotriva asprului ordin regesc, infruntand pericolul pedepsei cu moartea, se ridica Antigona, sora celor doi luptatori. In mare taina, ea preda pamantului trupul lui Polinike, indepliind astfel obligatia ce i-o reclama, potrivit obiceiului,legatura de sange cu cel mort.
          Fapta Antigonei a fost insa repede descoperita de Creon care o condamna la moarte. Ea este insa inflexibila fata de punctul de vedere pe care il apara, e netamatoare in fata mortii, o priveste ca pe o eliberare de suferinta. Triumfa moral,princpiile promovate ii supravietuiesc. In discutia aprinsa dintre Creon si Antigona se dezvaluie o ciocnire ascutita de principii morale. Antigona, fecioara firava si gingasa, este inzestrata cu un caracter indraznet, cu un curaj demn de luptator. Taria ei de a-l infrunta pe rege se trage din constiinta ce actioneaza in numele legilor strabune, nescrise, in care se sintetizeaza morala traditionala, adanc inradacinata in cetatile grecesti. Antigona va pieri intemnitata, dar Creon va primi crunta pedeapsa pierzandu-si fiul si sotia.
           Finalul operei este evident tragic, Antigona se sinucide, moarte succedata de cea a logodnicului ei.

LEXICOLOGY

· Lexicology is one of the most important branches of linguistics. It studies the vocabulary of a language, the word and its substitutes. It also studies variants of vocabulary which are restricted in usage either geographically (dialects and regional variants of the language), socially (hyper-correct, educated, colloquial or slangy variants), professionally (international words), stylistically or occasionally (the vocabulary of formal/informal language). Lexicology is closely related to other linguistic disciplines, i.e. phonetics (phonology), morphology, syntax and stylistics. Any word may be studied from all these linguistic aspects.

The basic linguistic unit with which lexicology operates is the word. According to dictionaries, a word is “an element of human speech to which a meaning is attached, which is apt to be used grammatically and which can be understood by a human collectivity constituted in a historical community”. § Phonetically, a word is expressed by one or more phonemes which are phonetical minimal units. (minimal unit = the smallest part).

§ e.g. the word a [ə] contains only one phoneme while the word book has 3 phonemes (b,u,k)

§ Lexically, or semantically, a word is expressed by one or more lexemes/semantemes (=the minimal unit of meaning).

e.g. the word house is expressed by one semanteme

       the word classroom is made up of two semantemes (class&room)

§ Grammatically, a word is expressed by one or more morphemes (= the minimal grammatical unit).

e.g. -in the word house there is only one morpheme

       -in houses there are two morphemes: house+s (s= plural ending of the noun or 3rd person singular ending of the verb): He has two houses; It houses many people.

Those elements that can stand by themselves as words are called FREE MORPHEMES (bookshelf); those that can’t stand alone, but need the support of other morphemes, are called BOUND MORPHEMES (room-rooms; quick-quickly; thinkable) . 

1. The root (or the base) is that part of a word that remains when the inflectional and derivational affixes have been removed. (all endings, formatives) 

1. The stem (or theme) is the linguistic form used as a base for a new word. Sometimes the root and the stem may coincide. 

Collocations are combinations of words; they refer to the common association of particular words in a pattern: 

e.g. strong coffee (not powerful coffee), broad summary (wide summary)

take + a look, a seat, an exam, notes

break + a habit, a leg, the law, the window, the world’s record 

The Context (of Latin origin – contextus = “texture”; figuratively: “union”, “connection”, “structure”).

The notion of context may be interpreted in at least two ways: 

1.in a limited linguistic sense

2. in a broader sense

MEDIEVAL LITERATURE IN BRITAIN: THE CHIVALRY ROMANCES

Middle English prose of the 13th century continued the tradition of Anglo-Saxon prose – didactic and directed toward ordinary people rather than aristocratic society.The fact that there was no French prose tradition was very important to the preservation of the English prose tradition, formed with the help of the story-tellers and historians.Poetry took a lyrical turn under the impact of French sources.
In the 13th century the romance, an important continental narrative verse form, was introduced in England. It drew from three rich sources of character and adventure:

the legends of Charlemagne (the matter of France);
the legends of Greece and Rome (the matter of Troy and the matter of Rome);
the British legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (the matter of Britain).

We generally define chivalry as a system of ethical ideals that arose from feudalism and had its highest development in the 12th and 13th centuries. Chivalric ethics originated mainly in France and Spain but spread rapidly to the rest of the Continent and England. Young noblemen were taught from early childhood the principles of both Christian and military morality and conduct. Piety, honour, valour, courtesy, chastity and loyalty were the chief chivalric virtues. 

The chivalry romances include for the first time in literature a deep psychological analysis, a description of the heroes’ inner feelings. Although the narrative element gets a considerable place, the description of different events is not the main purpose of these works, as the spiritual life of the Middle Ages is present in them to a great extent.

Man’s rights to love and happiness on earth (and not only in Heaven, as promised by the church) are proclaimed here. The chivalry romances generally present love as a noble sentiment, in contrast with the ecclesiastical morals that considered it a dirty aspect of human nature. It is true that in the legend about the Holy Grail the author(s) tried to preach the idea of renouncing earthly goods and devoting one’s activities to purity, which was to be rewarded after death, but this is a theme that gets only a secondary place in the chivalry literature.However, it is obvious that the romances idealized the idea of chivalry. They described the refined and delicate manners of the knights, who came to find the ancient manners rough and unfit and who adopted the notion of politeness and noble behaviour. In real life – and there is plenty of evidence to prove this – the knights were not exactly the embodiment of lofty ideals: they could be arrogant and false, mean and uncivil. But the romance knight was always presented as generous, loyal, honest and brave.Women, who in Anglo-Saxon times had been but a shadowy part of a man’s universe, get a new status in the chivalrous romances: they are an ideal worth fighting for.

Renaissance in England

              The Renaissance is generally referred to as a series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. These movements began in Italy and eventually expanded into Germany, France, England, and other parts of Europe. The English Renaissance dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century is associated with the pan-European Renaissance. The great Renaissance scholars studied the great civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome and came to the conclusion that their own cultural achievements rivaled those of antiquity.The word renaissance means “rebirth”, “renewal”. The idea of rebirth originated in the belief that Europeans had rediscovered the superiority of Greek and Roman culture after many centuries of what they considered intellectual and cultural decline. The Renaissance was marked by an intense interest in the visible world and in the knowledge derived from concrete sensory experience. It turned away from the abstract speculations and interest in life after death that characterized the Middle Ages. Although Christianity was not abandoned, the otherworldliness and monastic ideology of the Middle Ages were largely discarded. The focus during the Renaissance turned from abstract discussions of religious issues to the morality of human actions. The civilization of the Renaissance was the creation of prosperous cities and of rulers who drew substantial income from their urban subjects in the Italian city-states and the countries of England and France.

       Renaissance attitudes and philosophy had a complex influence on the evolution of literature. The humanist reverence for the classics of ancient Greece and Rome tended to stifle spontaneous literary creation and to encourage imitation of classical authors. However, the restless curiosity of the Renaissance, the interest in the world, and the exposure to urban influences created a demand for a vernacular, or native, literature that expressed the new excitement and variety of contemporary life. Moreover, Renaissance individuality, with its concern for personal fame, encouraged writers to try daring experiments in order to win praise from the critics and support from influential patrons.The sonnet was introduced into English by Thomas Wyatt in the early 16th century. His sonnets and those of his contemporary, Henry Howard the Earl of Surrey, were chiefly translations from the Italian of Petrarch and the French of Ronsard and others. While Wyatt introduced the sonnet into English, it was Surrey who gave them the rhyme scheme, meter, and division into quatrains that now characterizes the English sonnet. 

Renaissance Drama in England

The Elizabethan era saw a great flourishing of literature, especially in the field of drama.The Italian Renaissance had rediscovered the ancient Greek and Roman theatre, and this was instrumental in the development of the new drama, which was then beginning to evolve apart from the old mystery and miracle plays of the Middle Ages.The Italians were particularly inspired by Seneca (a major tragic playwright and philosopher) and Plautus (comic clichés, especially that of the boasting soldier had a powerful influence on the Renaissance and after).

The decade of the 1590s, just before Shakespeare started his career, saw a radical transformation in popular drama. A group of well- educated men chose to write for the public stage, taking over native traditions. They brought new coherence in structure, and real wit and poetic power to the language. 

They are known collectively as the "University Wits," though they did not always work as a group, and indeed wrangled with each other at times. According to some critics of his time, Shakespeare was vulgar, provincial and overrated. His mastery of poetic language and of the techniques of drama enabled him to combine these multiple viewpoints, human motives, and actions to produce a uniquely compelling theatrical experience. England’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare was buried in the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His epitaph reads:The "First Folio" is of major importance to William Shakespeare as it is the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays. The copper-engraving picture of William Shakespeare is signed Martin Droeshout on the title-page of the ‘First Folio’ (1623). 

As a Shakespearean tragedy represents a conflict which terminates in a catastrophe, any such tragedy may roughly be divided into three parts. 

A. The first of these sets forth or expounds the situation, or state of affairs, out of which the conflict arises; and it may, therefore, be called the exposition. 

B. The second deals with the definite beginning, the growth and the vicissitudes of the conflict. It forms accordingly the bulk of the play, comprising the Second, Third and Fourth Acts, and usually a part of the First and a part of the Fifth. 

C. The final section of the tragedy shows the issue of the conflict in a catastrophe.

   The application of this scheme of division is naturally more or less arbitrary. The first part glides into the second, and the second into the third, and there may often be difficulty in drawing the lines between them. 

see more on:

http://elizabethan.org/compendium/home.html

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-england.htm

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Elizabethan_life.htm

Medieval Drama in England

In England the folk-plays, throughout the Middle Ages sometimes took the form of dances (Morris dances). Others, exhibited with much fighting and buffoonery, had a slight thread of dramatic action. Their characters gradually came to be a conventional set, partly famous figures of popular tradition, such as St. George, Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and the Green Dragon. The real drama of the Middle Ages grew up from the regular services of the Church. The process of dramatizing the services in church contributed to the development of drama.Sometimes, in the later period, original and very realistic scenes from actual English life were added. Comic treatment was given to the Bible scenes and characters themselves. Noah's wife, for example, came regularly to be presented as a shrew, who would not enter the ark until she had been beaten into submission; and Herod always appears as a blustering tyrant, whose fame still survives in a phrase of Shakespeare's coinage - 'to out-Herod Herod.'

The morality plays had as their main theme choosing the right way in life and saving one’s soul.

Some of the moralities were anonymous; others were by known authors.

The best known of the former type is Everyman (late 15th century), which probably was derived from a Dutch source but was thoroughly Anglicized. In the play the protagonist Everyman learns that everything material he has gained in life deserts him as he journeys into the Valley of Death; in the end only the allegorical personage Good Deeds accompanies him.

Renaissance drama was strongly indebted to Medieval drama, just as Medieval poetry had a deep impact upon the poetry to come.

By the advent of the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries, most European countries had established native traditions of religious drama and farce. Little had been known of classical drama during the Middle Ages, but they were to be rediscovered during the Renaissance.