shine out, fair something-or-other, till I have bought a glass

[angevin2]

Here is a fine and shining example of aspects of Shakespeare that are much more complicated on the page than they are in performance.

So I was making Richard III icons from the pics I didn't use in the last set, and I realized as I was making one that I couldn't remember which way the "sun/son of York" pun usually goes, in print, in the opening

Comments

[angevin2]

The great thing is that it's a pun any way you slice it! But it's one that makes editors tear their hair (and I'm not even editing, just putting it on an icon...)

(And yay Park Honan!)

[gileonnen]

I'm going with 'son' because, although 'sun' is a good pun (and the term that Oxford uses), 'son' works most nearly to clarify the reference to 'our house' in the next line. But that's actually a very weak rationale, and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing it either way.

[angevin2]

But! "Sun" also goes with the clouds in the next line!

Man, I love Shakespeare. :D

[gileonnen]

Which is why it's a weak rationale. ^_~

[gileonnen]

Although, as I'm looking at it again, 'our house' needs more clarification than 'clouds,' and therefore I would probably spell it so as to make absolutely certain that there was a person, of York, of our house, involved, rather than just generally awesome Yorkiness (isn't that really the question wrapped up in this debate--individual prowess versus a united and radiant house? Because if that's the question, then I think Richard would want to imply an individual rather than a group victory, because he is an individual- rather than group-minded man). I'm with kaimia9 on what I think the author intended, but now the gloves are off with regard to how to spell it in our modern editions.

[hodsthorn]

Perfect!

I spent this afternoon re-reading Richard III in preparation for teaching next month, and I stumbled over exactly the same thing--I'm teaching out of the Pelican Penguin, which gives "son of York," but I'm positive the version I taught a couple of years ago gave "sun," which is to my mind the more likely (because more overdetermined) pun. And, after all, the whole point of the pun is that it works both ways, so perhaps "sonne" is usefully ambivalent here, just as it occasionally is as a way of connecting Christ with the light of day in medieval sermonic texts.

By the way, I'll be putting up an entry in a day or so about teaching Shakespeare and shamelessly soliciting advice...

[angevin2]

I look forward to it! :D

Although my students didn't seem too keen on my teaching, so maybe my advice will suck...

[kailen]

The biologist is tentatively speaking up... :)

Is there always a primary meaning? Could it be equally both "sun" and "son"? If "sonne" means both "sun" and "son", perhaps Shakespeare meant the meaning to be both, equally, and was taking advantage of the ambiguous meaning of the spelling.

[gileonnen]

I like the way you think. ^_____^

[kailen]

Thank you. :)

Awesome icon, btw!

[gileonnen]

Aww, thanks! Are you by chance a Chicago style aficionado, too?

[westerly]

Knock and "i" off that and my post is relevant. http://www.jeffrey-carlson.com/index2.html

[angevin2]

Rah! I totally want to see that.

[westerly]

I might try to talk Em into a road trip with her car Steve. We could pick you up at an airport... Who knows when...

[angevin2]

Dude. I totally need to look into that. Although I do not get my first paycheck until the end of September.

Also, comments about Richard II are ALWAYS relevant in my lj. ;)