Meaning & Analysis
The archaic phrase suggests a cycle of foulness or mutual unpleasantness. The proverb literally and paradoxically states that this state of shared baseness or imperfection is the origin of love.
Insights
Acceptance of Flaws
Suggests that true love begins not with idealized perfection, but with the mutual acceptance of each other's most unattractive and 'shameful' qualities.
Shared Vulnerability
Implies that love can arise from a shared state of hardship or indignity, where a bond is formed through mutual understanding of life's unpleasant realities.
Radical Authenticity
Acts as a cynical rejection of romantic ideals, proposing that genuine connection starts from a place of raw, unfiltered, and even grotesque honesty, rather than a curated facade.
Psychological Realism
Captures the psychological truth that deep intimacy is often forged when individuals feel safe enough to reveal their 'messy' or flawed selves, turning vulnerability into a foundation for connection.
Subversion of Romance
The proverb's vulgarity deliberately subverts the idealized, poetic conventions of courtly love, offering a more earthy, cynical, and arguably realistic perspective on the origins of human affection.
Power of Vulgarity
Its shocking, scatological language is a rhetorical strategy to strip away pretense and sentimentality, forcing a visceral confrontation with the less savory aspects of human nature and relationships.
Rhetorical Devices
Paradox
Creates a startling paradox by equating a repulsive, vulgar state ('Shitten come shites') with the cherished, idealized emotion of love, forcing a deeper reflection on its meaning.
Juxtaposition
The proverb's impact derives from the extreme juxtaposition of base, scatological imagery with the profound concept of love's beginning.
Low Diction
The use of archaic, vulgar terms ('shitten,' 'shites') grounds the proverb in a raw, physical reality, challenging sanitized or romanticized notions of relationships.
Transcription
Quotations
Related Proverbs
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