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Antonia Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary
Theatrical
0 I see it can have the meaning : belonging to the theatre, but there is also another derrogative meaning - pompous. I'm not sure which of the two it is in the following context: 02 br
02 br
00 ''There were endless interviews with people who had known him 01 i 00 intimately 02 i 00 for six weeks in 1938, or a month in 1944, or a day in 1952. Charming people. Theatrical people.'' 02 br
02 br
00 (Because the person in question had worked in the theatre.) 0-
02 br
00 ''There were endless interviews with people who had known him 01 i 00 intimately 02 i 00 for six weeks in 1938, or a month in 1944, or a day in 1952. Charming people. Theatrical people.'' 02 br
02 br
00 (Because the person in question had worked in the theatre.) 0-
Top answer
0 Hi Antonia, 02 br 02 br 00 While 'theatrical' means relating to the theatre, it also means a display of exaggerated and unnatural behaviour. I think in the above context, it could mean both. People who were not only related to theatre but who were also very theatrical in their behaviour.
- 0 Hi Antonia, 02 br 02 br 00 While 'theatrical' means relating to the theatre, it also means a display of exaggerated and unnatural behaviour.
- I think in the above context, it could mean both.
- People who were not only related to theatre but who were also very theatrical in their behaviour.
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9 Answers
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0 Hi Antonia, 02 br
02 br
00 While 'theatrical' means relating to the theatre, it also means a display of exaggerated and unnatural behaviour. I think in the above context, it could mean both. People who were not only related to theatre but who were also very theatrical in their behaviour. 0-
02 br
00 While 'theatrical' means relating to the theatre, it also means a display of exaggerated and unnatural behaviour. I think in the above context, it could mean both. People who were not only related to theatre but who were also very theatrical in their behaviour. 0-
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0 Thank you Benita. I agree, it could be that the author plays with this word and its two meanings 0-
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0 I personally see no intimation from your quotation that they were theatrical in their behaviour, merely that they were associated with the theatre. It would require more context to convince me of any double entendre. 0-
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0 Perhaps people who claim to know a person intimately, although they probably only met them once, are theatrical, because they are obviously exaggerating, don't you think Mr Mic? 0-
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0 I definitely think that there is irony here. Otherwise "intimately" would not be in inverted commas. "Theatrical" for me is play on words, as suggested above: those people were both connected with theater and were "theatrical", artificial. 0-
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0 I guess you're still with WELLES? 02 br
00 In my opinion, the fact that "theatrical people" is between 2 full stops implies some kind od judgement on them, as if the writer of the article dismissed them. So yes I tend to see the "theatrical people" as both belonging to the theatre and as "different/pompous" people 0-
00 In my opinion, the fact that "theatrical people" is between 2 full stops implies some kind od judgement on them, as if the writer of the article dismissed them. So yes I tend to see the "theatrical people" as both belonging to the theatre and as "different/pompous" people 0-
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0 "Charming people. Theatrical people." 02 br
02 br
00 "Charming" is an adjective of personality. Parallelism suggests "theatrical" would follow suit, ie. being another personality adj., meaning "drammatic", "exaggerating", or "colorful" etc. 02 br
02 br
00 Had the sentence been such as "Show-biz people. Theatrical people", then "theatrical" would carry the "
02 br
00 "Charming" is an adjective of personality. Parallelism suggests "theatrical" would follow suit, ie. being another personality adj., meaning "drammatic", "exaggerating", or "colorful" etc. 02 br
02 br
00 Had the sentence been such as "Show-biz people. Theatrical people", then "theatrical" would carry the "
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hbae787"Charming people. Theatrical people."
"Charming" is an adjective of personality. Parallelism suggests "theatrical" would follow suit, ie. being another personality adj., meaning "drammatic", "exaggerating", or "colorful" etc.
Had the sentence been such as "Show-biz people. Theatrical people", then "theatrical" would carry the "belonging to theat
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Yes Pieanne, I'm still with Welles. I'm not sure I understand hbae787, but I guess we all agree there is another meaning attached to it (Theatrical:exaggerated, colorful,, etc.)?
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