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rodrigoatsu
31 ago 2017

  • Portoghese (Brasile)
  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)
  • Portoghese (Portogallo)
  • Inglese (Regno Unito)
Domande Inglese (Stati Uniti)

What does the phrase, 'be still, my heart' mean?

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m_d_97
31 ago 2017

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)
  • Tedesco Quasi esperto

No one actually uses this in everyday speech. It's poetic.

It's used by someone who is excited, agitated or angered, who wants to calm themself down (so they can think rationally instead of emotionally).


When Odysseus was angry about men trying to court his wife, he said the following to calm himself down:
"Be still, my heart, thou hast known worse than this, on that day when the Cyclops, unrestrained in fury, devoured the mighty men of my company..."

-Homer's Odyssey

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rodneydeaton
31 ago 2017

  • Inglese (Stati Uniti)

I agree with @mike_d_97

There is an interesting variation to that. Sometimes in American English, you will hear people say that phrase when they are actually being A little sarcastic. When they say that, they are essentially saying that "you may think that what you are talking about is important, but it doesn't really seem that important to me."

You might even hear someone say "Be still, my beating heart."

You can usually tell this from context. Not only can it be sarcastic, but sometimes it is alsocondescending. In other words, some people use it to put down other people.

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