Meaning & Analysis
To endure an insult, slight, or harm without reacting, retaliating, or showing that one has been affected, effectively concealing one's resentment.
Insights
Suppression of Emotion
The phrase metaphorically represents the act of suppressing one's immediate emotional response to a grievance. The 'pocket' is a symbol for one's private self, where feelings of anger or hurt are hidden from public view.
Strategic Patience
Pocketing an injury can be a strategic choice to avoid a greater danger. It signifies a pragmatic decision to sacrifice pride or honor in the short term for a more significant long-term gain, such as safety or strategic advantage.
Accumulated Resentment
The act of pocketing a wrong implies that the grievance is not forgotten but carried along. This can lead to the accumulation of resentment, which can become a heavy burden or lead to future conflict, as suggested by the 1629 quote, 'To Pocket up one wrong, is to Allure another.'
Compromised Honor
In a society concerned with honor, to 'pocket an injury' can be seen as an admission of weakness or cowardice. It implies a failure to defend one's reputation, thus accepting a lower social standing.
Culture of Honor
The proverb's popularity in the Elizabethan era reflects a culture of honor where choosing not to retaliate against an insult was a significant and often difficult decision. It highlights the tension between maintaining personal honor and the pragmatic need to avoid dangerous conflicts.
Psychological Burden
The physical act of 'pocketing' serves as a powerful psychological metaphor for internalization. An injury that is pocketed is not resolved but carried secretly, suggesting the accumulation of a hidden emotional or psychological burden that can grow heavier over time.
Pragmatic Forbearance
This phrase reveals a crucial social strategy of forbearance. Choosing to 'pocket an injury' can be a calculated act of self-preservation or diplomacy, demonstrating wisdom and self-control in navigating complex social or political situations, as seen in Greene's 1589 quotation.
Power Dynamics
The act of pocketing an injury is often dictated by power dynamics. A person in a subordinate position may have no choice but to endure a wrong from a superior, making the proverb a reflection on social hierarchy and the injustices it can enforce.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The core of the proverb is a powerful metaphor where the abstract concept of an 'injury' (an insult or wrong) is treated as a physical object that can be put away in a pocket, making the idea of emotional suppression tangible.
Imagery
The phrase creates a simple, concrete visual of concealing something. This imagery makes the abstract idea of enduring an insult without reaction both memorable and easy to understand.
Alliteration
The plosive 'p' sounds in 'pocket up' create a concise, almost abrupt auditory effect, mirroring the quick, decisive action of hiding something away from sight and discussion.
Transcription
Quotations
Thus the great Generall of Spaine was content to pockette vppe this Dishonour to saue his life.
I will not pocket this injurious wrong.
To suffer or pocket vp an iniurie.
I doe not meane to pocket vp this wrong . . —Because you haue nere a pocket.
To Pocket up one wrong, is to Allure another.
*To pass it by without revenge, or taking notice.
Shakespeare Citations
Well, ruffian, I must pocket up these wrongs.
And yet you will stand to it; you will not pocket up wrong.
They would have me as familiar with men's pockets as their gloves or their handkerchiefs . . for it is plain pocketing up of wrongs.
If but one of his pockets could speak, would it not say he lies? —Ay, or very falsely pocket up his report.
Cross References
- See St., no. 2618.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.