Meaning & Analysis
According to 17th-century custom, good wine ('one ear') makes a person nod in approval, while bad wine ('two ears') causes them to shake their head in disapproval.
Insights
Quality and Reaction
Symbolizes the direct relationship between quality and reaction. Excellence earns a simple, positive gesture ('one ear'), while inferiority provokes a strong, negative one ('two ears').
Approval vs. Disapproval
Represents a binary system of judgment. The 'one ear' gesture signifies quiet satisfaction or acceptance, while the 'two ears' gesture conveys emphatic rejection or complaint.
Embodied Judgment
The proverb reveals a cultural belief that aesthetic judgment is not just an intellectual act but a physical one, where the body involuntarily expresses the verdict of the senses.
Cultural Etiquette
Rooted in a specific Italian social gesture, as recorded in the 17th century, the proverb serves as a historical snapshot of non-verbal communication in wine culture, where physical expressions conveyed critical opinions succinctly.
Economic Implication
In a commercial context, 'wine of one ear' signifies a product that will sell, while 'wine of two ears' is a liability, linking sensory approval directly to economic success or failure.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis
The parallel structure directly contrasts 'one ear' (good) and 'two ears' (bad), creating a memorable and balanced expression of binary choice.
Synecdoche
The 'ear' or 'ears' stand in for the larger physical gestures of nodding or shaking the head, using a part to represent the whole action.
Idiom
The meaning is entirely dependent on understanding the specific cultural gesture, making it a highly idiomatic expression that is opaque without its context.
Transcription
Quotations
*So Meant of the Bountie of the Wine.
Wine of the one eare. *By this is meant, that when ye drink good wine, you use to say Good, bowing one eare, but when it is naught, you shake both eares.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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