Swiftly Seen Shakespeare III: Who is Sylvia? What is She?
Of all the things I learned from watching the complete dramatic works of Shakespeare, no doubt one of the most interesting has been my realization that Shakespeare made a distinction in his use of language that we have since forgotten how to use, to the massive impoverishment of our capacities as both thinkers and speakers. If you watch much of Shakespeare, it will eventually become obvious to you—even if you are a slow learner like me—that in Shakespeare’s language, “who is he?” and “what is he?” are completely separate and quite different questions. The first is simply the request, “Please point out which of these men bears this name.” The second requests a description of the man and his qualities. For us, today, poor, benighted souls that we are, this distinction is lost, and we often use “Who is he?” for both of these inquiries, or for the second alone. If we wish specifica...