Meaning & Analysis
Offering praise or compliments at the moment of departure, often implying that people tend to speak well or flatter as they part ways.
Insights
Superficial Courtesy
Suggests that praise given at parting can be insincere or perfunctory, serving as a polite social convention rather than a genuine expression of feeling.
Lasting Impressions
Highlights the importance of how parting words influence memory and relationships, implying that final remarks carry special weight and can shape future interactions.
Concealed True Feelings
Indicates that praise at parting might mask underlying tensions or unresolved conflicts, acting as a socially acceptable way to gloss over discord.
Human Desire for Harmony
Reflects a psychological tendency to restore goodwill at moments of separation, emphasizing the human need for peaceful closure and positive social bonds.
Historical Symbolism
Historically, parting words have been ritualized in many cultures as a moment of heightened social politeness or emotional significance, underlining the proverb’s relevance across time and societies.
Literary and Cultural Resonance
Shakespeare’s references to praise at departing in plays like 'The Tempest' and 'Troilus and Cressida' reveal the proverb’s embeddedness in English literary tradition, where parting words often encapsulate truth, irony, or social dynamics.
Psychological Dimensions
The proverb uncovers human ambivalence about farewells, balancing genuine appreciation with social performance. It also touches on the desire to leave a positive final impression despite possible mixed emotions.
Social Ritual and Politeness
It emphasizes the function of praise as a social lubricant, facilitating smooth separations and future cordiality, reflecting cultural norms about politeness and face-saving.
Rhetorical Devices
Ellipsis
The brevity and ellipsis in the proverb (‘Praise at PARTING’) convey a sense of incomplete or implied meaning, inviting reflection on what is left unsaid or fleeting in parting moments.
Antithesis
The contrast between 'praise' (positive expression) and 'parting' (separation, often negative) intensifies the emotional complexity inherent in farewells.
Alliteration
The repetition of the 'p' sound in 'Praise' and 'Parting' enhances the proverb’s memorability and rhythmic quality.
Transcription
Quotations
Pryse at the parting.
Prayse at the parting euyn as ye fynde.
It is an old saying, praise at the parting.
Then prayse at parting some men say.
I but Philautus prayse at the parting, if she had not liked thee, she would neuer haue aunswered thee.
Here [in dancing] will desire throng in prease, Though it praise not in parting.
But praise your lucke at parting.
Shakespeare Citations
Praise us as we are tasted; allow us as we prove. Our head shall go bare till merit crown it.
Praise in departing.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.