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The Power of the Word
Words affect our body chemistry — choose carefully
A number of years ago I was studying Shakespeare’s Othello as part of a degree course. For one of my assignments I needed to write in depth on one of Othello’s soliloquies. This meant drilling down deeply into each line to wring out every drop of context, meaning and analysis. Normally I enjoyed such exercises, and so I took to the task with the usual energy and enthusiasm.
The dark cloud that came over me during the next few days was slow and pernicious. The more I absorbed Othello’s words (well, Shakespeare’s really- but you know what I mean) into my psyche the more sullen I became. I was especially grumpy towards my partner, Laura. It was only when we went out for the evening, and over a couple of MDMAs, that I realised the problem. Shakespeare’s wonderful, poetic words were centred on a character’s descent into paranoid jealously. Words and sentences are charged with meaning. Meaning that affects us. And these chosen words in this particular sequence had been around for 500 years, growing more powerful and charged through constant use and repetition. And it was this I was tapping into. The power of the words overwhelmed me for that brief period.
Once I realised what was causing my morose it seemed to discharge itself. I became earthed and grounded. My mood lifted.
