The Significance of Carnevale essays

The Significance of Carnevale essays The Significance of Carnevale in The Rover Aphra Behns play The Rover takes place in Venice, Italy during the Carnevale. Carnevale was one of the more important celebrations in Venice. It was a time of goodwill, dedicated to happiness and laughter much like the Mardi Gras we are familiar with today. The origins of Carnevale trace to over 3000 years ago to the pagan Roman fertility festival of Saturnalia (McCarthy 121). During Saturnalia, even the slaves took part in the festivities. Carnevale, a Latin word loosely translated as farewell to meat, was the last opportunity for wild abandon and pleasures of the flesh before the religious period of Lent. Likewise in The Rover, Hellena and Florinda exploit the Carnevale season to liberate themselves before religious periods in their lives begin the Convent and a forced marriage, respectively. The symbol of Carnevale is the mask. The masks gave participants the opportunity to ridicule the archaic societal standards, without fear of punishment. Venetians of different social classes used Carnevale as an excuse to mingle and, in some cases, to trade sexual favors without fear of recognition or retribution. Members of the Aristocracy, in particular, went about their everyday lives masked for the duration of the festival (McCarthy 124). In fact, the tradition of masks for the Carnevale came from the Italian theater form commedia dellarte (Hughes 110). This type of theater relies on the mask to help showcase exaggerated stereotypes, over-the-top physical comedy, along with improvisation. As the Carnevale celebration centers on maskers, the streets, the squares, the canals - basically the entire city becomes a stage. Similarly, the plot in The Rover revolves around the issues of disguise and confused identities. The character of Hellena wears several costumes: a lady, a gypsy, and a boy. In costume, Hellena flirts with Willmore, and the disguise prevents a...

Paramount vs. Tantamount

Paramount vs. Tantamount Paramount vs. Tantamount Paramount vs. Tantamount By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between paramount and tantamount? The distinction is of paramount importance; it’s tantamount to being right or wrong. Paramount, from the Anglo-French word paramont, derived from the Latin phrase per ad montem, literally translated as â€Å"up the mountain,† means â€Å"supreme.† It’s also used (rarely) as a noun to refer to a supreme ruler. Tantamount was originally a noun, translated into English from the Anglo-French phrase tant amunter, meaning â€Å"to amount to as much,† and means â€Å"equivalent.† It is seldom used more’s the pity, because it is such a grand word in such phrases as â€Å"tantamount to treason.† This grandiloquence, and the word’s resemblance to paramount, may mislead writers into assuming it has a lofty sense like its counterpart. As you might have guessed, the noun amount, meaning â€Å"sum,† also derives from the Latin word for mountain. Another word with the element -amount is catamount, a nearly obsolete synonym for cougar or lynx that is a compression of the term cat-a-mountain. Closed-compound verbs with the root word mount include dismount (â€Å"remove oneself from a high position, as a horse or a piece of gymnastic equipment,† or â€Å"take apart†) demount is a rarely used variant remount (â€Å"get up on again,† or â€Å"revert†), and surmount (â€Å"climb,† â€Å"excel,† or â€Å"overcome,† or â€Å"be at the top of†). Seamount is a noun referring to an underwater mountain whose summit does not reach sea level. (If it did, it would be called an island.) Dismount and remount also have noun forms; the former refers to the concluding movement in a gymnastics routine, and the latter denotes a horse that replaces a rider’s previous one. An interesting side note: In archery, â€Å"lord paramount† and â€Å"lady paramount† are terms for an official in charge of an archery tournament, or for a ceremonial leader of such an event, equivalent to a parade grand marshal. The terms originated in the feudal era, when a lord paramount, one not subordinate to a member of the nobility of greater rank, was required to provide trained longbowmen in the event of war, and officiated at archery tournaments. (The title â€Å"lord paramount† is known to fans of the television series A Game of Thrones and the series of novels on which it is based.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with Heart"Replacement for" and "replacement of"Wood vs. Wooden