Chapter 20 - Wit

Summary

The term “wit” underwent a remarkable shift in meaning during the early-modern period. Originally used to denote intellectual ability, it also referred to the inward faculties of perception: imagination, cogitation or instinct, fantasy, memory, and common sense. Labelled “the five wits”, these were often collapsed into the notion of the imagination. In addition, “wit” increasingly signified linguistic adeptness and the aptitude to use words in a sparkling and amusing way. In this sense, “wit” reflects the Aristotelian social virtue of eutrapelia (“wittiness”). In Love's Labour's Lost Shakespeare explores various aspects of the relationship between wit and ethics, an issue closely bound up with the vexed early modern opposition between surface brilliance and intrinsic virtue. The protagonists of the play are consumed with the desire to display their cleverness and linguistic virtuosity in witty skirmishes with each other. The hunger for enhanced prestige that drives them is intertwined with an antagonistic impulse that finds its articulation in unrestrained baiting of others. The play, however, exposes the superficiality and self-regard at the heart of their demonstrations of wit. Instead, the play suggests, wit could be used to facilitate social intercourse and foster communal bonds through shared laughter.