2006-07-25 01:06:39 · 20 answers · asked by Mr 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Other - Arts & Humanities
It comes from Shakespeare
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet."
--From Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
So, a rose is a rose is a rose means that something, any object, is whatever it is, no matter what you call it.
2006-07-25 01:11:09 · answer #1 · answered by Annie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sentence "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose." was written by Gertrude Stein as part of the 1913 poem Sacred Emily, which appeared in the 1922 book Geography and Plays. In that poem, the first "Rose" is the name of a woman. Stein later used variations on the phrase in other writings, and "A rose is a rose is a rose" is probably her most famous quote, often interpreted as "things are what they are". In Stein's view, the sentence expresses the fact that simply using the name of a thing already invokes the imagery and emotions associated with it. As the quote diffused through her own writing, and the culture at large, Stein once remarked "Now listen! I’m no fool. I know that in daily life we don’t go around saying 'is a … is a … is a …' Yes, I’m no fool; but I think that in that line the rose is red for the first time in English poetry for a hundred years." (Four in America) [1]
Gertrude Stein's repetitive language can be said to refer to the changing quality of language in time and history. She herself said to an audience at Oxford University that the statement referred to the fact that when the Romantics used the word "rose" it had a direct relationship to an actual rose. For later periods in literature this would no longer be true. The eras following romanticism, notably the modern era, use the word rose to refer to the actual rose, yet they also imply, through the use of the word, the archetypical elements of the romantic era. It also follows the rhetoric law of thricefold repetition to emphasize a point, as can be seen in speeches dating back to the sophists.
2006-07-25 06:19:48 · answer #2 · answered by laney_po 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Basically it means - that you are what you are what you are. A rose cannot be a daisy or an orchid or a carnation. The saying is usually used in a similar manner as "a zebra can't change it's stripes". People said it meaning that you cannot change what a person is. Of course we know that this is nonsense and a person can become whatever they want within reason. Although short, I cannot become a tall person, but I don't have to limit myself to short occupations or activities. Or just because I am a woman doesn't mean I am limited to certain things in life.
When people said things like a rose is a rose is a rose....they believed in limitations.
2006-07-25 01:13:43 · answer #3 · answered by dddanse 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My guess is that Gertrude Stein wrote this phrase thinking of Shakespeare's " ... a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.", but with a nouveau twist. "A rose is a rose" might have done the trick all by itself, but to us, pronounced in a certain way, it can have the slightly cynical meaning that a rose is no more than a rose. But if you start in that way and then add another "... is a rose", I think it carries an intensifying connotation that, yes, a rose is only a rose, but think of what a rose is, an infinitely marvelous thing we know without really understanding how we know it. It satisfies our need for modern idiom but adds meaning and drama to it. And it is unique, very important to Gertrude Stein.
2006-07-25 13:59:01 · answer #4 · answered by haroldpohl2000 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means Gertrude Stein thought it was enough to say of a rose that it is a rose. I suppose, you know, it is: we all know the word "rose" so well that she could get away with it. But it was also for the symbolic value of a rose. For centuries, it has represented female genitalia, for its physical resemblance. Stein, you know, was a lesbian.
2006-07-25 01:11:56 · answer #5 · answered by auntb93again 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it looks like a guy was trying to write a song but he could only go as a far as rose is a rose!!!
2006-07-25 01:10:28 · answer #6 · answered by ChEkNa . 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means you r in love with a girl called Rose and she looks like a preety rose.
2006-07-25 02:05:37 · answer #7 · answered by Ashley. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Isn't it, "A rose is a rose?" Good people are good individuals to all.
2006-07-25 01:14:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet." Meaning that names don't matter. Call a spade a spade.
2006-07-25 01:10:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
rose is always a rose.
2006-07-25 01:10:26 · answer #10 · answered by Indrani Borgohain 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋