#171 - A Jar is Ajar

‘Twasn’t it Shakespeare who wrote ‘a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose’? Whether he did or not, it’s a play on words. And from what the history books tell us, he was the best at making plays out of words. Or organizing words into a play. 

 

What we learn from this is that as useful as language can be, it can also prove confounding. Through all the channeling to the place in the brain where comprehension is gained by translating your senses into images or ideas, there is always the opportunity for misinterpretation. 

 

In the English language alone there currently exists 20,000 words, so chances are very good that a few of them are going to doppleganged. I mean, to a foreigner, it can’t be easy to discern the nuance of building a building, or how to desert a desert. Or how minute a minute is, much less how a solution can be a solution.  

 

I know, it’s fucked. 

 

They are called homonyms. And as I’m sure you know by now, the key to differentiating terminology is by understanding the context of the word. Meaning, you just need to know the subject matter you’re talking about. 

 

By the way, did you know that they found a pipe in Shakespeare’s grave and they’re pretty sure the dude smoked weed? So, what did he mean when he wrote that ‘a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose’? Well, there are many ways to refer to a rose in literature. And actually, ‘twasn’t he that wrote that, I just looked it up. He wrote ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’. Which was from Romeo and Juliet and meant love transcends applied labels like Montegue and Capulet. 

 

And speaking of love, if a jar is ajar, it means I’ve unscrewed the cap of my beloved nug jug and ripped another tasty bowl whilst I scribed this stoner prose. Just like Bill Shakespeare would’ve. In case you’re learning English.