Literary beef

Did you know that Shakespeare held grudges?

Image: Kelly Sikkema

We sometimes fail to remember that literary geniuses are still human and driven by the same impulses that move ordinary people. No matter their style or ideologies, sometimes their motivations are simple: affection for their friends and disdain for their enemies. More than a few literary masterpieces have been influenced in some way by these passions, even if the final result was a work of art. Here are ten rivalries and friendships that left their mark on literature!

Image: Pierre Bamin

The Romantics were known for being dramatic and capricious, and Lord Byron was not an exception. Between his many feuds, he had a particular rivalry with John Keats. Keats despised Byron because of his charisma, nobility, and general snobbery, and Byron despised Keats because he was a struggling, middle-class poet.

After Keats’ death due to tuberculosis, other writers claimed that negative literary critiques had taken a toll on his already fragile health. Byron publicly lamented Keats’ passing, but he later mentioned him in his Don Juan as someone "who was kill'd off by one critique".

Image: Annie Spratt

A key figure of the Modernist movement, T. S. Eliot is known for both his literary works and his critical essays. His poem The Waste Land is considered one of the most important literary works of the 20th century, and has served as inspiration for countless authors.

What many people don’t know is that The Waste Land would have looked very different if not for the influence of another writer, Ezra Pound. A mentor and friend to Eliot, Pound was given ample liberty to edit the first draft, so much so that Eliot considered him to be ‘the mother’ of the poem. The Waste Land is dedicated to Pound, whom Eliot calls il miglior fabbro or ‘the best craftsman.’

Image: stefano stacchini

We might think of Shakespeare as one of the greatest literary minds in history, but the Bard had his fair share of detractors in his time. One of the best-known cases is his feud with the writer Robert Greene, who called him "an upstart crow, beautified in our feathers," accusing him of plagiarism and of being bombastic in his writing.

Shakespeare’s answer was twofold: He first wrote Titus Andronicus, one of the goriest, most over-the-top plays of the time. Then, he wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is plagued with references to several well-known classical authors.

Image: Alexander Grey

All of Jane Austen's novels are filled with pointed social commentary and critiques, but Northanger Abbey stands out for also being a satire of a popular genre of that time: the Gothic novel.

But Austen was not happy with making a parody of the genre. She called out by name several Gothic novels and authors, making it clear that these works were harmful for the readers, especially young, impressionable girls without world experience.

Image: Mick Haupt

The first part of The Quixote was an instant success upon publication. After a few years without a second part, an opportunist published a sequel under the pseudonym ‘Avellaneda’, something Cervantes was not happy about.

Cervantes then penned a continuation in record time, making clear to the readers that Avellaneda’s work was not part of the original story. How did he accomplish this? By having Don Quixote himself talk about Avellaneda’s work and how it was a poor representation of his character. To ensure it wouldn’t happen again, the story ended with the death of Don Quixote.

Image: jaikishan patel

Another key figure in Modernist poetry, E.E. Cummings wrote over two thousand poems in his lifetime, on top of several theater plays. Although he had published several books, in the 1930s, one of his poem collections kept being rejected by editors.

After 14 rejections, Cummings decided to self-publish the book with his mother’s help. The chosen title, No Thanks, was his ironic response to the editors, to whom he dedicated the book. All fourteen editors appear in the dedication, their names forming the shape of a funeral urn.

Image: Towfiqu barbhuiya

The Spanish literary scene of the 17th century was filled with geniuses, who for the most part couldn’t stand each other. Luis de Góngora and Francisco de Quevedo were two of the most important poets of the time, and they were sworn enemies due to their adherence to opposite poetry styles.

Their literary and personal differences often resulted in satirical poems filled with insults, mocking each other’s writing styles, and resorting to direct attacks about physical characteristics, such as Gongora’s big nose or Quevedo’s limp.

Image: Joshua J. Cotten

To Kill a Mockingbird has often been called one of the Great American novels, garnering critical acclaim and several prizes. Its author, Harper Lee, was from the Southern U.S., and her personal experiences appear throughout the novel.

Not everyone knows about her childhood friendship with Truman Capote, one that they maintained well into adulthood, with Lee even including Capote in her novel. Although she never confirmed it, it is widely believed that Capote was the inspiration for Dill Harris.

Image: Yoksel 🌿 Zok

The first Romantic poets, Wordsworth and Coleridge, were the start of a literary movement that wouldn’t have been possible without friendship. Meeting by chance, they created a bond so strong that Coleridge moved to be close to Wordsworth and his family.

Out of their friendship and common literary ideals, they decided to write together the Lyrical Ballads, a book that is considered the starting point of Romanticism. Sadly, their views started diverging later in life, which created a rift between them.

Image: Ed Robertson

The 18th century was a great time for the English novel, and it saw the emergence of many authors who are now considered essential to the genre. But like with any era where great minds abound, these geniuses were not necessarily cordial with each other. Henry Fielding, prone to satirical, realistic writing, was not fond of Samuel Richardson, who wrote more sentimental, moralistic novels.

After the publication of Richardson’s Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, Fielding decided to write his own version of the story, titled Shamela (the full title was An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews). In it, he told the "true" story of Pamela, parodying Richardson and the morals he preached.

See you later, big lizard

Is it a breeze to eat jerky in the ranch? Words borrowed from Spanish

If you ask an English speaker which common words originate from Spanish, the answer might be something like taco, tostada, or sombrero. They wouldn’t be wrong—but Spanish influence goes much deeper than that.

Spanish has entered the English vocabulary in many ways, and we now use Spanish-derived words to talk about weather phenomena, animals, food, or metals. Let’s take a look at some of these terms.

Alligators are infamously known as the protagonists of strange Floridian news. They are a species native to only the U.S. and China, so when Spanish explorers first encountered one in Florida, they likened it to what they knew—a big lizard—and called it el lagarto ("the lizard").

English speakers gradually adopted the term, first as allagarto or allagarta, and eventually as alligator.

This term was half-borrowed from Spanish, half-created by English speakers, who mixed the word tronada (meaning "thunderstorm," from tronar, "to thunder") with tornado (the past participle of tornar, "to turn").

In Spanish, tornado was originally only used as a verb, and its current use as a noun was actually borrowed back from English. A true full-circle moment.

Spanish settlers first came across platinum mixed with gold in Mexican and Colombian mines, mistakenly believing it to be a gold impurity. Due to its silver color, they named it platina ("little silver")—a diminutive that carried the idea of being "lesser than."

English later adopted the word platina, which eventually evolved into platinum.

Experts are divided on this one: some say breeze has Old English roots, but the most widely accepted etymology traces it to Spanish (and Portuguese) origin. The word briza (now brisa) originally referred to a "northeastern wind," but later came to describe any gentle, light wind. It was incorporated into English in the 16th century.

The suffix -ería is used in Spanish for places where something is done or sold. So, the cafetería is the place where coffee is prepared and served.

English speakers adopted the word from Mexican Spanish, but by the late 19th century, its meaning shifted from "coffee shop" to "self-service diner."

We’re not talking here about the object used to lock doors, but about the small island. Also spelled cay, this word comes from the Spanish cayo, which in turn derives from the Taíno cairi or caicu, meaning "island" or "land."

If you like to go camping in the wilderness, you know that jerky is a great snack to have. But did you know that its name comes from the Inca Empire via Spanish?

The Quechua word ch’arki (meaning "dried meat") was adopted into Spanish as charqui, and the term spread throughout the territories of the Spanish Empire. In U.S. regions with Spanish influence, the word eventually evolved into the modern English form: jerky.

We don’t know if the English didn’t have roach infestations before or simply didn’t have a name for this unwelcome critter, but the fact is that, around the 16th century, they borrowed the Spanish word cucaracha, which first appeared in English as cacaroch.

Folk etymology eventually connected the word to other animal names, and the spelling evolved into its current form: cockroach.

In Spanish, this bird is called **alcatraz**—a name you might recognize—which comes from the Arabic al-qattas ("the diver"), a term once used for both albatrosses and pelicans.

Originally, albatross was used in English for many large seabirds, but it’s believed that the Latin albus ("white") influenced its modern form and spelling.

The Spanish term rancho derives from the French word ranger (meaning "to line up" or "to arrange"), and one of its meanings is a stock farm or estate—distinguished from a hacienda, which refers to a plantation farm.

English first adopted the term ranchería (meaning a group of small farms or settlements) and later shortened it to ranch.

The term cowboy is a direct translation of the Spanish word vaquero (a mounted cowherd), with an alternate loanword being buckaroo, a phonetic adaptation of vaquero. Other cowboy-related terms of Spanish origin include rodeo (from rodear, "to round up" or "to gather"), lasso (from lazo, "noose"), and bronco (from bronco, meaning "rude" or "rough").

Fun fact: cowboy hats are sometimes called "ten-gallon hats," a corrupted form of either tan galán ("so handsome" or "fine") or galón (meaning "trim" or "braid" of the hat).