ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHT POET AND OTHERS

HAMLET

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Brevity is the soul of ____ H
A
wit.
B
humour.
C
contention.
D
kingship.
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Brevity is the soul of wit comes from the play Hamlet, written by English poet William Shakespeare around 1603. Polonius says it in act 2, scene 2. Simply put, brevity is the soul of wit means that clever people can express intelligent things using very few words.

Detailed explanation-2: -Polonius is the character of the play Hamlet whose words and speeches cannot be called short. He is almost always verbose and overly detailed, repeating his words. Consequently, his phrase “brevity is the soul of wit” contradicts his actions.

Detailed explanation-3: -Prov. Jokes and humorous stories are funnier if they are short. Dale took ten minutes to tell that joke; he obviously doesn’t know that brevity is the soul of wit. The comedian was in the middle of a long, tedious story when someone in the audience shouted, “Brevity is the soul of wit!"

Detailed explanation-4: -In Shakespeare’s day, the word “wits” sometimes referred to the five external senses (hearing, sight, touch, feel, smell), and that’s how Mercutio’s using it when he tells Romeo not to judge him by what Romeo heard him literally say.

Detailed explanation-5: -What is humorously ironic about Polonius saying, “Brevity is the soul of wit"? It is because he keeps saying how he’s going to be brief but he keeps saying so much he loses the point which is, Hamlet is crazy in love.

There is 1 question to complete.