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Lev Landau Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary
It sets my heart a-reeling
In the song The Man in Me Bob Dylan wrote:
But, oh what a wonderful feeling
Just to know that you are near
It sets my heart a-reeling
From my toes up to my ears.
I wonder if this structure can be applied to other adjectives as well, say, a-trembling, etc., and if it is used in normal conversation at all, or it only appears in poetic contexts.
Can someone give me an answer please?
Thank you very much.
But, oh what a wonderful feeling
Just to know that you are near
It sets my heart a-reeling
From my toes up to my ears.
I wonder if this structure can be applied to other adjectives as well, say, a-trembling, etc., and if it is used in normal conversation at all, or it only appears in poetic contexts.
Can someone give me an answer please?
Thank you very much.
Top answer
It's an old construction, not really used anymore. You will find it in a lot of older texts, but I'd say that even during the 20th century, it was used mostly in music, and that in actual speech it was confined only to rural America. I'm saying this without having done any actual research on it.
- It's an old construction, not really used anymore.
- You will find it in a lot of older texts, but I'd say that even during the 20th century, it was used mostly in music, and that in actual speech it was confined only to rural America.
- I'm saying this without having done any actual research on it.
- Anyone else have any thoughts?
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1 Answers
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It's an old construction, not really used anymore. You will find it in a lot of older texts, but I'd say that even during the 20th century, it was used mostly in music, and that in actual speech it was confined only to rural America. I'm saying this without having done any actual research on it. Anyone else have any thoughts?
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