Brevity.
But to understand how and why, we should consider what is possibly the most famous quotation of all time on the subject of brevity, which is from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and the tragicomic figure of Polonius.
But to understand how and why, we should consider what is possibly the most famous quotation of all time on the subject of brevity, which is from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and the tragicomic figure of Polonius.
See, Polonius as written is a hypocrite, and so most of his lines are meant to be faux-deep and tinged heavily with irony. But they're also written by Shakespeare, and so they're so quotable, and so they get quoted out of context.
"To thine own self be true," says the fraud.
"To thine own self be true," says the fraud.
"This above all: to thine own self be true, and thus it must follow, as the night the day, that thou canst not then be false to any men."
This line caps his advice to his son on how to make his way in the world, and on its face it seems pretty solid.
This line caps his advice to his son on how to make his way in the world, and on its face it seems pretty solid.
It's only relative to Polonius's other lines and behavior throughout the play, which reveals to be false to himself and to others that the joke becomes apparent. As when, directly before he wishes his son well, he sends a hireling ahead of him to spread slander and gossip...
...under the theory that if he's willing to trash talk someone then other people will also gossip with him about him, and in this way he can find out what his son has been up to.
So he's sending a spy to make sure his son is not ruining his reputation, by ruining it for him.
So he's sending a spy to make sure his son is not ruining his reputation, by ruining it for him.
But let that go!
"Brevity is the soul of wit" is part of a larger quotation by Polonius that does not appear as part of the aforementioned scene, which originated multiple quotations.
"Brevity is the soul of wit" is part of a larger quotation by Polonius that does not appear as part of the aforementioned scene, which originated multiple quotations.
After spending several lines of monologue promising not to waste the time of his king and queen, Polonius says: "Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief."
Reader, he is not.
Reader, he is not.
However, even though his speech is made with irony, this doesn't actually mean -- and this is where I'm kind of a contra-contrarian? -- that people who quote "brevity is the soul of wit" are failing to understand it.
Polonius is not brief, but he is also witless.
Polonius is not brief, but he is also witless.
So it's not ironic in the sense that he's wrong about the value of brevity, it's ironic in the sense that he recognizes this fundamental truth about the nature of rhetoric and communication, and fails to apply it. Fails to discern how it applies regarding him.
So, to sum up, in short: I am known on Twitter for my wit, which is to say that I am known for brevity, for being brief.
And how am I brief?
Why, as brevity is the soul of wit, and I am witty, I must be brief deep down in my soul.
Where no one will ever see it.
And how am I brief?
Why, as brevity is the soul of wit, and I am witty, I must be brief deep down in my soul.
Where no one will ever see it.
All of this is to say that God alone can judge the length of my threads.
And that's called theology.
