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HSS Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Be Still your Heart
"Be Still my Heart"
This is the title of a book written by Patricia Hermes. I don't see it grammatically. Is this an imperative? Does this mean "Be still my young self," or "Keep my self, don't change"?
Hiro/ Sendai, Japan
This is the title of a book written by Patricia Hermes. I don't see it grammatically. Is this an imperative? Does this mean "Be still my young self," or "Keep my self, don't change"?
Hiro/ Sendai, Japan
Top answer
I can't speak for the book, never having read it, but "be still my heart" is a fairly well known idiom. In contemporary English, the expression is usually used sarcastically to imply that a situation is not nearly as exciting as has been suggested. Edit: Sorry about the messed up link.
- I can't speak for the book, never having read it, but "be still my heart" is a fairly well known idiom.
- In contemporary English, the expression is usually used sarcastically to imply that a situation is not nearly as exciting as has been suggested.
- Edit: Sorry about the messed up link.
- Click on the first part to get to the wiktionary page.
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5 Answers
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I can't speak for the book, never having read it, but "be still my heart" is a fairly well known idiom.
- In contemporary English, the expression is usually used sarcastically to imply that a situation is not nearly a
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I take it as imperative. "Get moving, legs!" - (while being chased)
Re the heart, it's pounding because I'm in the throes of an amorous attraction.
While there is the element of sarcasm, when the first person is the speaker there's also an element of sincerity. The speaker is aware of the inordinateness of the emotion, and she welcomes it.
As pure sarcasm, it m
Re the heart, it's pounding because I'm in the throes of an amorous attraction.
While there is the element of sarcasm, when the first person is the speaker there's also an element of sincerity. The speaker is aware of the inordinateness of the emotion, and she welcomes it.
As pure sarcasm, it m
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HSSI don't see it grammatically. Is this an imperative?Yes. It's an imperative. The speaker is talking to himself / herself, saying "I must calm down. I must control myself. I am overexcited", but it takes the form of commanding his /her heart to beat more slowly.
CJ
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I now understand the structure of the sentence. Thanks, all. Because there wasn't a comma between "still" and "my heart," I couldn't see "still" was an adjective. I was seeing it as "Be (still) my heart." It is "Be still, (my heart)," right?
Hiro/ Sendai, Japan
Hiro/ Sendai, Japan
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Right. You're giving a command (imperative) to your heart.
If you were speaking to men, you might say, "Be alert, you guys!" "Be brave, my friends!"
If you were speaking to men, you might say, "Be alert, you guys!" "Be brave, my friends!"
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